


Bigger than us

by chasingpegasus



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-10-19 21:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20663852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingpegasus/pseuds/chasingpegasus
Summary: Mattia Binotto, Scuderia Ferrari's team principal, has a long-term plan to rebuild the red team. But he's being forced to fix it by removing the weakest link.





	1. You'll fix the plan

**Author's Note:**

> I hope some of you will find this topic interesting. Although I have a feeling that it will not age well...  
I like Mattia a lot and I wish him all the best. But, damn, his job is hard.  
It's just a fic. The guys that I'm painting as evil are not evil people in real life.  
For those who don't know me (it's been a while), I'm Kate and English is not my first language :)  
Feel free to follow me on my tumblr blog where I'm chasingpegasus as well. I might tag some extra stuff there with "bigger than us fic" tag.  
Thank you in advance for reading! And have a good day!

Mattia took a sip of coffee and grabbed his phone once again to check the schedule for the next day.

Tomorrow everything was starting over again. The lucky ones who had the longest breaks were returning from their vacation to join those who had been working on the new car since last autumn.

The risotto he’d just finished was his first meal that day. And it was already late in the evening. He didn’t even remember if he enjoyed it. He had wolfed the first part down way too greedily, his stomach aching, stealing his appetite.

He put the phone down on the table, took his glasses off and rubbed the inner corners of his eyes. His gaze glided over the Ferrari memorabilia around him. Out of focus, a couple of years younger Sebastian was smiling at him from a large poster right next to his table. Mattia put his glasses back on and smiled back before reminding himself that he wasn’t alone. He immediately grew serious and looked around to check if anyone noticed.

Judging by the size of the posters – Sebastian was on two of them – the German was very popular among the owners of Ristorante Montana. Some were saying that he was Mama Rosella’s favourite. Mattia wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. Sebastian had an innocent charm to him and knew how to show affection.

Sebastian and Charles were expected at Maranello tomorrow for the seat fitting. It was always a special moment in the preparations for a new season. Mattia was going to make a speech for all the people at Gestione Sportiva. He wasn’t yet sure what he was going to say. Over the past years he’d heard many team bosses and their speeches and, as motivating as they sounded, he didn’t want to repeat the same thing.

He took another sip of coffee, staring at the poster. The piece of cake he’d ordered was waiting next to the coffee cup, untouched.

He was trying to recall the last time he’d seen Sebastian. The German had a rare gift of disappearing after each season. He wasn’t using social media and knew how to avoid paparazzi.

_It’s been around two months_, Mattia calculated. _But it feels like six._

One thing was certain – Sebastian would be smiling again. Always cheerful and friendly. Despite the nightmarish season which was in a large part Mattia’s fault.

_He never blamed me. It was Maurizio who approved the last year’s car, but I was the guy who couldn’t fix it for him. I couldn’t address his needs._

After a series of mistakes, both on Seb’s and the team’s side, Sebastian was only able to collect a couple of podiums but didn’t manage to win a single race in 2019.

He was still smiling and joking with everyone, but the sparkles in his eyes kept dying after each weekend and sometimes Mattia just wanted to hug him.

Seb’s personal assistant, Britta, and the rest of his crew, were doing a great job at shielding him from the most negative headlines, but they deserved a break as well. He had to have seen some of that bullshit. And he probably had many doubts, uncertain of Mattia’s support and his current position in the team.

Mattia opened the calendar, hoping to find a time slot for a quick meeting with the German alone.

Since it was already nighttime, when he heard the door open, he turned his head to check whether he wasn’t the last person inside.

He wasn’t. And Sebastian was just entering the restaurant. Taking his winter jacket and beanie off, he rushed straight to the kitchen without noticing his boss nor the excitement he created among the four remaining clients.

Sebastian wasn’t famous for eating alone, so maybe someone was going to join him, but he just came early? On the other hand, he wasn’t famous of coming early.

Mattia suspected that the German would use the smaller room, a special, more private space for Ferrari officials. To enter that room, he would have to walk past Mattia’s table.

_Surely, he’ll notice me then._

Minutes were flying by, and the German was not leaving the kitchen. Mattia started losing patience. With a bit of anxiousness, he realized, that Sebastian could leave through the back door.

The Ferrari team principal picked himself up, collected his dessert, his laptop bag and his coat and did something he’d never done before: invaded the restaurant’s kitchen.

“Here it is!” Mama Rosella jumped to her feet as he entered. “The last piece of cake.”

“No, that’s Mattia Binotto, my boss,” Sebastian chuckled. “What are you doing here so late?” he took the laptop bag out of Mattia’s hand.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I came to soak up the atmosphere!”

Mattia looked at the plate in his hand. “You want some cake? I haven’t touched it and I’m already full.”

Sebastian followed Mattia’s gaze. “It’s my favourite,” he whispered. “But I gained too much weight over the winter. And I promised Antti not to order anything sweet…”

“That’s my order, not yours.”

“So true… Will you sit with us?”

Mattia turned to look at the owners. The workday was coming to an end, but they still had things to do. “Can we talk in the small room?”

“Sure. Would you like some wine?”

“I’m driving.”

“But… you won’t mind if I…” Sebastian reached for a half-empty glass.

“I think you’re old enough.”

“I came on foot, by the way.” Sebastian grabbed the glass and followed Mattia. As they were leaving the kitchen, Mama Rosella hurried to refill Seb’s glass.

“Basta, per favore! I can’t get drunk in front of my boss.”

“That’s just wine.”

Mattia led the way. The door to the private room was open. The Italian flicked the light switch on, hung his coat on a rack, approached the table and put the plate on it.

The German left his wine glass next to the plate. “Since our hands are finally free, we can greet each other properly. I’m happy to see you, Mattia! I missed you.”

“Really?” Mattia grabbed Sebastian’s hand, small like a child’s compared to his.

“You were supposed to say that you missed me too.” Sebastian gently pulled him by the hand as if to initiate a hug.

Mattia extended his arm before realizing that Seb left the door ajar and the last four guests were staring at them.

“I was just thinking about you, when you showed up,” he said, awkwardly patting Sebastian’s shoulder.

“I thought about you many times during the last two months. I was wondering if you’re already working.”

“I worked a lot, but it was fun.”

“Because it’s your passion, I know.” Sebastian took a seat. “I will eat with pleasure, and you tell me if that’s the last careless evening this year.”

Mattia closed the door and settled down on the other side of the table. “Things are looking well. So far everything’s going according to my plan.”

“You mean just like the last year? The tests were peachy, but the season wasn’t that great. At least for me.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t ask me for predictions.”

“I just wanted to know how you feel.”

“I’m happy, and I can’t wait to see our car on track. We’ve addressed a couple of weak points. Mercedes won’t run away from us that easily.”

“Weak points… Like me?” the German said in a low voice, his eyes on the cake.

Mattia felt a sharp pang in his stomach. “I hope you weren’t wasting your time on reading nonsense opinions of people who know Ferrari as well as I know ballet.”

Sebastian licked his lips. “I don’t like being stuck in the past and feeling sorry for myself. I already moved on. I just wanted to let you know that I’m pushing to be in the best form possible… Well…” He put the spoon down. “Let’s pretend that I’m not eating cake. I’ll lose these three kilograms, I promise.”

Mattia smiled, leaning to the side to give the German a once-over. “Three kilograms? Where are you hiding them?”

“Under my sweater.” Sebastian shoved the last, huge piece of cake into his mouth.

Mattia realized it was a good opportunity to speak without interruption. “I wouldn’t have taken this job, if I didn’t have a plan. And it’s not going to work without you. I had the privilege to work with Michael, so I know what success tastes like, and I know the ingredients necessary to achieve it. You are one of them. Out of all the drivers I worked with, you remind me of Michael the most.”

“Yeah, we’re both German.”

“I’m not joking, Sebastian. Sometimes, when we talk about complicated things, I can see how it all comes together in your head. You make the same face as he used to make. Your knowledge and understanding of technical nuance are impressive. Michael had the advantage of being able to test everything on track. Who knows where you would be, how many more titles you would have if testing wasn’t limited?”

“Times change, racing changes…”

“My opinion about you has not changed. I know what happened last season. But I also know that you’re a smart, hard-working man, who loves Ferrari as much as I do.”

Sebastian put the spoon on the plate and looked Mattia straight in the eye. “That’s very kind of you. But I must take responsibility for what happened last year. The fact that I didn’t like the car, doesn’t excuse all my mistakes. Especially since I never felt too much pressure from you and you never judged me. This year I will work harder and I’ll try to avoid distractions. I don’t want to ruin your plan. I believe you are the right person to put Ferrari where it belongs. I don’t care how many years it will take. You have my full support.”

“And you have mine.” Mattia extended his hand and the German shook it firmly.

* * *

“And finally, to the last point of out meeting,” Louis Camilleri, the CEO of Ferrari, gathered all the loose paper sheets into a neat stack. “Sebastian Vettel.”

Mattia sat up, surprised by the topic. “I’ve already spoken to him. I think our negotiating position is strong, but we should show him respect. We know his worth and how much he loves Ferrari.”

John Elkann, the chairman of Ferrari, cleared his throat, but didn’t speak.

Mattia felt the tension in the room spike. Somewhere on the left a loud buzzing fly was hitting against the window, trying to escape.

Elkann grabbed a magazine and killed it with a surgical precision.

“I hope you didn’t make any promises to him,” Camilleri finally broke the silence. “We’ve been discussing this issue since a while. The final decision was taken yesterday.”

“I wasn’t aware of any discussions.”

“We won’t be singing a new contract with Vettel.”

“I beg your pardon?” Mattia clenched his fists.

“We started negotiations with Joss Verstappen. His son is very keen to join our team.”

“Is… is that wise?” Mattia stuttered.

“Vettel is done. Instead of wasting resources just to keep him comfortable, we decided to invest in our future. Leclerc – Verstappen will be our championship winning duo. Everyone on the board is looking forward to it.”

Mattia couldn’t shake off the shock. He thought he knew the men in this room. He thought he could trust them. “I thought I had your support,” he said, interlacing his long fingers to keep them from shaking.

“You do, of course.”

“I need two more years to rebuild this team. And Sebastian is a part of my plan.”

“You’ll fix the plan.”

“Getting rid of a four-time world champion is not a fix!”

Elkann stood up, forcing Mattia to look up. “We believe in you,” he said in a stern voice. “Obviously, this conversation is highly confidential. We need to make sure we have a strong position in our negotiations with Joss. Max is brilliant, but there’s no need to waste money on him if we don’t have to.”

Mattia’s gaze moved from Elkann to Camilleri and back to Elkann. “You’ve already planned everything out, didn’t you? So, what happens if Sebastian wins the title this year?”

A wry smile appeared on Camilleri’s face. “We know that you had big hopes for him. We were optimistic too when he showed up at Maranello for the first time. But now, after five years of watching him, it’s time to face the truth: he’s not our next Schumacher. Instead of improving, he keeps getting worse. Scuderia Ferrari is not a nursery for drivers in crisis.”

Mattia grabbed a pen and squeezed it hard. “I thought I was the one steering this boat…”

“You’ll be fine. Just don’t waste your energy on Vettel and his problems. Focus on Charles instead and the rest will fix itself.” Camilleri glanced at his watch. “Time to end this meeting. The entire Gestione Sportiva is waiting for you, Mattia. Good luck with your pep talk. And remember not to mention anything of what’s been said here. Both drivers will be treated equally, that’s our official policy. And Sebastian’s future depends on his results. Don’t be too specific. You can tell him that second in the championship should be his aim.”

“You didn’t answer my question. How about first? Will you still want to get rid of him then?” Mattia asked insistently.

“If he’s leading the classification after Monza, we can talk again.”

Mattia stood up and looked at the cowards from the right perspective. They were all small people.

“We’re not going to achieve anything if we’re not pushing in the same direction,” he said firmy.

“Correct your course then, mister Binotto,” Camilleri countered. “Good luck. And goodbye.”

* * *

_Looks like everything will be fine, we just need to win this season with Sebastian. Extra motivation is a good thing, right?_

_Jesus Christ, I’m fucked…_

“Everything’s all right, sir?” His personal driver was looking at him through the rear-view mirror.

Mattia snapped back to reality. His phone was ringing, Mattia rejected the call without checking the caller ID.

“No phone calls in French?” the driver continued. “I’m not used to see you so quiet. What happen to all the principal stuff you take care of in the car?”

“I’m saving my voice,” Mattia said, putting his phone on mute.

He had to deliver a motivational speech for the entire Gestione Sportiva, meet with department directors, engineers and drivers. And then he had to make an appearance during the seat fitting. An appointed TV crew was going to film everything, because they needed a couple of clips for the car unveiling ceremony.

Mattia hoped he was a good actor.

Half an hour later, standing on the stairs in the big hall of the Gestione Sportiva, Sebastian and Charles by his sides, Mattia was addressing the crowd.

“Exceptional things always take time. I’m convinced that we’re building something great here. I know it. Because I’ve already seen it.” His eyes paused on Sebastian. “Here, in this hall, we have all the people we need to succeed. I’m with you and I wish you all good luck.” Seeing the fire and hunger in Sebastian’s eyes, he quickly looked away. “Let’s get to work!"

* * *

The moment he entered the conference room, everyone got quiet.

“I like it the discipline,” he smiled. “Let’s hope it lasts.”

Apart from the directors, engineers, drivers and other people that he expected to see, he spotted Nicolas Todt, Charles’ manager, sat next to his client. Sebastian was his own manager, but Mattia knew that the German would take a lot of notes and share them with his mysterious advisers.

Mattia spoke shortly about the preparations to the winter testing, the personnel changes and what he expected from Sebastian and Charles.

After he finished, he gave the floor to Jock Clear who talked for almost twenty minutes before giving the floor to Laurent Mekies.

Charles kept grabbing his phone. At some point his manager took it away from him.

Mattia wasn’t surprised that the young driver was bored. He had trouble focusing himself. The board meeting had sucked all the energy out of him.

Sebastian was listening with great interest, but when Mattia glanced at him, the German felt it immediately. His warm smile was too much to handle. Mattia smiled back and quickly looked away. They were both good at wearing happy faces, but it was better not to make too much eye contact.

Finally, the moment came to wrap up the meeting.

“Last year Charles was new to our team and I didn’t want him to feel too much pressure. But he proved to be able to handle it well. So, this year, I think, it’s only fair to give you both the same opportunities. You will be treated as equals. I think that’s the best solution for you and for the team.”

Sebastian nodded. He didn’t seem uncomfortable nor surprised.

“That’s all. I’ll catch up with you during the seat fitting.”

Sebastian and Charles rushed out of the room. Their engineers followed them, in conversation with each other.

Alone in the room, Mattia took a deep breath in, feeling the stomachache return.

There was only one point in his schedule that required him to stay in control of his body and face, because of the cameras.

_You can do it. You’ll survive this day. And then you’ll have a drink._

He winced, nipping that thought in the bud. Alcohol was never an answer.

A discreet cough coming from the door drew his attention. Charles’ manager was standing in the doorway, checking something on his phone.

Mattia picked himself up and started collecting his things. “Can I help you, Nicolas?” he asked in French.

“Equal treatment, right?” Young Todt looked up, a conspiratorial smile growing on his face.

“That’s what I said.” Mattia’s self-control was strong, despite the flood of anxious thoughts.

After keeping eye contact long enough to make Mattia sweat, Nicolas winked at him, turned around and left.


	2. You're reading me wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the winter testing, the 2020 season begins with a big crash.

**BARCELONA, WINTER TESTING 2020**

Mattia zipped up a red winter jacket. The first day of tests in Barcelona was unexpectedly cold.

The temperature in the garage was probably a bit higher, but Nicolas Todt was sitting there - Leclerc's devoted companion who’d been staring at everyone’s fingers as they worked on the new Ferrari racing car.

Young Todt had demanded that Charles would test on the first day. Mattia didn’t feel the need to explain that it wasn’t the first day that counted the most, but the last one.

Charles just drove out for another round of laps.

Loud cheers coming from a small group of dedicated fans made Mattia realize that a star must have shown up in the pit lane.

When he turned his head, he saw Sebastian walking toward him and waving to the fans.

The German approached the pit wall. “How are the numbers looking?”

Mattia shook his hand. “Where’s your jacket?”

“In my room. I got tricked by the sunny weather.” Sebastian sat down next to Mattia and looked at the screens. “So… how’s it going?”

“We’re not chasing fastest times today,” Mattia said. “If you want, we can have a chat in the garage.”

“I would rather go along the track and watch Charles in action.”

Mattia took the headphones off and started unzipping his puffy jacket. “Put this on. You’re too important to get sick.”

“I’m not cold.”

“Put it on!”

“I thought I left my dad in the hotel room with my brother…”

Mattia felt the chill air on his neck and arms. Only a padded waistcoat was protecting him from freezing. “Let’s go then.”

“You’ve come too early, Sebastian.” Young Todt was on his way to the pit wall. Once he came up to the German, he took a leather glove off and shook Sebastian’s hand. “Nice jacket, but it doesn’t look your size…” he added, sending Mattia a challenging look. “Are you going for a walk?”

“Yes, would you like to join?”

Mattia cursed in his mind, hearing Sebastian’s words. If only the German knew… Or maybe he did? Maybe he was just good at faking friendliness?

“Sure. Why not?” Todt fixed his grey scarf.

Mattia let out a discreet sigh, cold wind penetrating his clothes. The second he spotted Jock Clear in the pit lane, he waved at him.

_The more, the merrier._

Jock put a beanie on, he wouldn’t say no to his boss.

* * *

The next day, when Sebastian finished his first day of testing and got out of the car, Mattia used the opportunity that there was nobody around and went to ask a few questions. “How did it feel? Were you comfortable to push?”

Sebastian took the balaclava off. His forehead was sweaty.

Mattia grabbed a towel and handed it to him.

“Thank you,” Sebastian dried his face. “My first impression was… not bad.”

“Meaning?”

“Ehm… it was good.”

Mattia frowned. “You don’t look ecstatic.”

“Because I remember what happened last year.”

“Did it feel worse or better than last year?”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “More or less the same.”

“Which is good?”

Sebastian burst out laughing. “Yes. I’m happy with the car, don’t worry so much.” He rubbed Mattia’s arm. “You’re a bundle of nerves since yesterday. You said it yourself, didn’t you? Everything is going according to the plan.”

Mattia nodded. _Whose plan though?_

* * *

**Australian GP 2020, Race start**

Mattia gaped at the screen in disbelief. He knew the guy with the camera was lurking nearby, but he couldn’t hide his shock. His disappointment. His frustration. And the fear of what was awaiting him in the next few days.

Charles was starting from P2, Sebastian from P3. All Mattia could recall was that the German had a better start and quickly overtook Charles, squeezing himself between him and Lewis in front. But then the Mercedes driver braked earlier than expected, probably to make sure the guys behind didn’t have a good exit out of the corner. Sebastian did an avoiding manoeuvre, but chose the direction where Charles put his car, trying to re-take his position…

It didn’t end well, especially for Sebastian who found himself on a collision course with the McLaren drivers behind. His suspension was done.

“I couldn’t see him! I was focusing on Lewis!” the German lamented over the radio.

Charles, with a damaged front wing and a flat tyre, was limping back to the pits. Safety Car appeared on the track.

_Don’t make any gestures_, Mattia told himself, fighting an urge to headbutt the screen in front.

The TV cameras were showing an unimpressed Nicolas Todt at the back of the red garage.

Charles changed his nose and tyres and went back to racing. He still had a chance for a couple of points.

Twenty minutes later, Sebastian appeared on the pit wall, his face gloomy. “Did you see everything?” he asked, walking up straight to Mattia. “I had a really good start. I didn’t anticipate Lewis to be so defensive.”

“It was a racing incident. It can happen.” Mattia reached out just to pat Sebastian’s shoulder, but the German leaned forward and rested his head on his chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Out of the corner of his eye Mattia could see himself hugging his driver on a large screen.

_Nicolas will love that…_

* * *

“I don’t know what the problem is. The guy ahead, stays a…”

Mattia scowled at Leclerc’s manager. “The problem is that you shouldn’t be here. It’s a Ferrari team debrief. And you’re obviously not working for me.”

“Are you throwing me out?” The Frenchman looked furious, although his face remained pale.

“No, just stay quiet.” Mattia took a deep breath in to collect himself. “We’ve all seen what happened. It’s only the first race, but it makes us look stupid. And Mercedes is already thirty-nine points ahead.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to tell you how to race, but… please, be more careful next time.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to be more careful,” Sebastian said, looking down, his voice muffled.

Mattia turned his eyes to the young French driver.

Charles shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t do anything wrong. It was just a slow start.”

“You can’t expect Sebastian to stay behind you and wait,” Mattia said.

“Why not?!” Nicolas jumped to his feet, outraged. “This is ridiculous. Charles didn’t cause this collision. It was Sebastian. Why are you forcing Charles to apologize?”

Mattia clenched a pen in his hand. “Leave,” he said, his voice calm but strong.

Charles sighed with annoyance. “Just go. I can take care of myself.”

After the young Todt left, Mattia turned to his younger driver. “I don’t want apologies from neither of you. I just want you to be more careful, that’s it.”

Charles nodded. “I’ll try. And I’ll work on my starts.”

* * *

**Bahrain GP 2020**

“The car was really good today,” Sebastian said to the interviewer, after getting a pole in Bahrain. “It was really close between me and Charles and I think he did a very good job. It will be tough in the race, because Lewis was fairly quick on race pace yesterday.”

Nicolas was probably happy that Mattia didn’t forbid racing on the first lap. Because this time Charles had the upper hand. Sebastian wasn’t particularly defensive. In normal circumstances, Mattia would’ve applauded that, but after Sebastian’s DNF in Australia, the German needed all the points he could get.

But that was not the end of Seb's troubles. Mercedes managed to undercut him with Lewis and the German had nothing to respond.

It all looked great for Charles until he had a miscommunication with George Russel. It was supposed to be an easy pass, since Russel was a back marker and was obligated to let Charles through. But the Williams car was not easy to control and Charles needed to brake hard and leave the track to avoid collision.

Lewis took an immediate advantage of that, with Seb doing the same on the next straight with some help of the DRS.

Charles ended up third.

Mattia swallowed hard, his heart beating fast. It felt wrong, but he was glad that Sebastian was back in second place.

The German made a couple of attempts to overtake Hamilton on the last lap of the race, but clearly didn’t want to take too much risk.

Lewis won another round and had 50 points in his pocket. Charles had 19, and Seb only 18.

* * *

**VIETNAM GP 2020**

“You’re doing a great job,” Camilleri called Mattia late in the evening.

The team was still celebrating. A one-two on a new circuit. Total domination over Mercedes, that’s how some called it.

Mattia was tired and worried about Sebastian. The German fought like a lion and had the pace to push Charles till the end of the race and even to overtake him. But a slow pit stop robbed him of 4 seconds. And he spent the rest of the race trying to overtake Max which he finally did on the last lap, with a bold move that was close to a disaster.

“Finally, some good points for our team and you managed not to ruin the race for the faster guy,” Camilleri continued.

“Well, Sebastian was very fast today…”

“Yes, thank God he got that second place back. Congratulate him from me, will you? I already called Charles. He was quite happy with how you managed this weekend. Especially when it comes to…” he cleared his throat, “to certain circumstances during the race. Keep it up.”

Mattia frowned. “What are you suggesting? That slow pit stop was a mistake. I would never ask the guys…”

“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just glad that we finally won a race. We need to keep repeating that.”

“That’s my goal.”

“It’s good to hear.”

* * *

**CHINESE GP 2020**

It was raining since Thursday. Mattia kept running out of dry clothes.

The car wasn’t perfect in the wet. The conditions were supposed to improve for the race, but that was only making the setup decisions more complicated.

“What do we do?” Mattia asked at the team meeting on Saturday before qualifying. “We can take a gamble with a dry setup today and be quicker, but if it rains it’s going to be slippery.”

“I can handle that,” Charles assured immediately. “It’s always better to have a quick car.”

Mattia turned to Sebastian.

The German didn’t seem as confident as his teammate. “I don’t know… It feels too risky.”

“I agree with Seb,” Laurent Mekies chimed in. “On the other hand, Max was bloody fast during free practice. If we’re reading it right, it will be tough to beat the Red Bull tomorrow without our straight-line speed advantage.”

“I want maximum speed. Or as much as you can give me in the wet, without being stupid,” Charles said.

Mattia nodded. “Seb?”

The German scratched his head. “I think I’ll go with more downforce. My FP3 setup was quite good.”

“If it stops raining, you will be compromised for qualification, Sebastian,” Jock Clear noticed. “The rest of the guys will find some dry patches…”

“I know how it works.”

“The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow,” Mattia added. “Which will make you even more compromised…”

“No, I think I’ll go with my current setup. I had the car under control all the time, even with the shitty wet tyres.”

Mattia sighed. “Okay, that’s settled then.”

* * *

The risk didn’t pay off.

Just as everyone predicted, the track started drying off in Q2, so in the final part of the qualifying all the drivers went out on dry tires.

It was tricky, but Charles still nailed the lap. Max’s last run looked more controlled, but the young Frenchman was faster.

Sebastian, despite not making any mistakes, qualified P5 behind the two Mercedes.

When late in the evening Mattia was about to leave the paddock, he decided to check on the guys in the garage. Sebastian was still there, laughing and joking with his mechanics.

Mattia quickly backed off. He didn’t want to spoil the mood. And there was nothing that would cheer him up.

“Hey, boss, are you spying on us?” Sebastian shouted after him.

“Yes, I was going to call your physio and tell him to get you and put you to bed.”

“Don’t interrupt him. He’s very busy.”

“With what?”

“Diarrhoea.”

Someone crouching under the car burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny. He really isn’t feeling well. He has a very delicate stomach."

Mattia approached the German and took him by the arm. “Come on. I have a personal driver on standby. You need to rest, and the guys need to focus.”

Sebastian checked his watch. “Wow, I had no idea it was that late.”

* * *

Once Sebastian found his backpack, they were finally ready to leave the track.

They walked down the paddock, arm to arm. Mattia was holding an umbrella over their heads. Outside the garages, the area looked deserted.

It was probably the longest silence they ever shared. It felt intimate and enjoyable at first, but soon Mattia started getting suspicious.

When Sebastian suddenly stopped and turned to him, Mattia’s anxiousness spiked.

“Are you disappointed in me?” the German asked, holding on to Mattia’s gaze for a couple of seconds before looking down and making a step back.

“Are you serious?” Mattia quickly moved the umbrella forward. “What gave you that impression?”

“Let’s start with the way you look at me. We used to joke and laugh together. And now, every time you say something to me, you have that serious, hard look on your face as if something was not right.”

_Fuck._

“Yes, that look. Sometimes I wish you would simply get angry at me and tell me what you think, instead of holding everything inside. I fucked up in Australia. I fucked up with the setup today… Just say it, don’t treat me like a child.”

Mattia opened his mouth. What was he supposed to say? “Sebastian…” He grabbed the German by the chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. “You’re reading me wrong,” he said, hoping Sebastian would be able to recognize his honesty.

“What’s wrong then?” the German asked, putting a hand on Mattia’s wrist.

“This season is not going as well as I planned…” Mattia admitted. _You’re not going to have a mental break down in front of your driver. Put yourself together!_

“But it’s not bad… come on!” Sebastian lept forward and gave him a strong hug. “It’s not bad, do you hear me?”

Mattia nodded, feeling a strange warmth in his chest.

“Wait a second…” the German looked toward the paddock exit. “Shouldn’t the city be there?”

Mattia followed Sebastian’s gaze. _See, you hugged me, and the world disappeared…_

Everything outside the paddock was pitch black.

The personal driver had the explanation. “There’s a power outage in some parts of the Jiading district. We will have trouble getting to the Courtyard Hotel, sir.”

Sebastian took the back seat and fished his phone out from his backpack. “I got a message from Britta. No electricity in our hotel and a huge traffic jam outside.”

“What about the Hyatt Regency?” Mattia asked.

The driver typed something into his phone. “It's good. We can go there first. Maybe the situation will be fixed soon.”

Mattia took the back seat next to Sebastian and put the seat belt on.

“Hyatt Regency hotel, huh? It’s quite expensive,” Sebastian said.

“Yours is not much cheaper.”

“I booked it early.”

The moment the driver turned the engine on, Mattia felt all the stress and tiredness taking its toll on him. The fact that the world outside was completely dark wasn’t helping to stay awake.

“I hope Antti can still flush the toilet,” Sebastian said. “You know how it goes. Nothing works without electricity these days. Some people can’t even communicate.”

Mattia rested his head over the headrest and smiled.

“Are you better?” Sebastian asked, shifting closer.

“Yes. I just need to get some sleep.”

Sebastian sighed and leaned back as well. “Sucks to have your job. I can’t even imagine the pressure…”

“It’s not that bad. I still love what I’m doing.”

“Yes, Ferrari is worth it. No matter how much pain and struggle we will have to go through, it will be all worth it when we finally succeed.”

Mattia swallowed down the bitterness in his mouth. “Let’s hope it’s sooner than later.”

* * *

When they arrived to Mattia’s hotel, the power cut situation in the other part of the district was not yet solved and the chaos on the streets continued.

“You should stay with me. There are two sofas in the other room,” Mattia offered.

“That’s probably a good idea,” the German agreed after checking his watch. “I’ll just let Antti and Britta know where I am.”

A few minutes later, Mattia let Sebastian into his hotel suit. “Get a shower while I’ll look for some blankets.”

“Oh, so nice and dry in here,” Sebastian quickly got rid of his damp jacket. “I used to laugh at Antti whenever he put fresh underwear into my backpack but now, I’m grateful.”

“I wonder what made him do that…”

“Probably that time I pissed myself laughing on Saturday morning and then I had to do the FP3 without my underwear. Antti’s very protective of my dignity.”

“I hope he’s feeling better.”

“I just got a message from him that Charles went to bed three hours ago.”

Mattia suppressed a smirk. Antti was a smart guy.

When Sebastian finally locked himself in the bathroom, Mattia prepared a spot to sleep for him.

The German was done five minutes later.

“That was quick…” Mattia pointed at the sofa. “Here’s your bed. I left you some healthy snacks on the table if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks, boss. Or… dad. You’re more like my dad sometimes. Just taller. And with more hair.” Sebastian took the bathrobe off. Wearing only a pair of grey shorts, he slipped under the blanket and rested his head on a pillow. “I’m actually super sleepy.”

Mattia left his driver alone and went to take a shower himself.

He put a lot of effort into not making any noises, but when he left the bathroom and crossed the room with the sofas, Sebastian lifted his head and chuckled.

“What?”

“You look funny without your glasses.”

“I don’t feel funny because I can’t see anything.”

“You want me to escort you to your bed?”

“I think I’ll manage.”

The German pressed his head back to the pillow. “Good night.”

* * *

“I should be working out right now,” Sebastian said staring out a huge window in his principal’s suite. It wasn’t raining, but the clouds looked ominous.

“Do some push ups then,” Mattia suggested, unwrapping the towel off his head.

“Your wet hair looks better than mine when it’s dry…”

“You wouldn’t want to have my hair.”

“Yes, I would.”

“It’s very high maintenance.”

“Yeah, I saw what it looked like when you woke up,” Sebastian chuckled. “Are you going to blow dry it?”

“Yes…”

“How long will it take?”

“Too long.”

“I guess I’ll do these push ups then.”

* * *

They decided to leave the hotel early and have breakfast in the Ferrari hospitality unit.

Sebastian zipped his jacket up. “Don’t forget the umbrella.”

“Right.” Mattia made sure they had everything they needed for the rest of the day. “Okay, let’s go.”

Once they got out of the room, Mattia turned to lock the door.

“Bonjour, I didn’t know you were staying here,” Nicolas was walking up to them, his eyes puffy as if he’d just got out of bed. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, it was fine…” Mattia felt warmth on his cheeks. “See you in the paddock.”

As he was following his driver down the corridor, he could feel the Frenchman’s stare burning a hole in his back.


	3. Sensitive topic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles starts from pole, Sebastian is only fifth. How will the Chinese GP end?

**Chinese GP 2020, Sunday**

Mattia fixed the headphones on his head, trying to sit still, but failing miserably.

_This race will never end._

The safety car was out for the second time. Charles was in the lead, but it started to drizzle, and the young driver was still on his qualifying tyres.

Sebastian called for tyre change the moment the second safety car appeared and was now stuck in the middle of the field on intermediates.

“Why didn’t you pit me?” Charles wasn’t happy with the situation.

“Heavy rain is coming. If we let you out on intermediates, you will have to pit again.”

“But I’m on slicks now!”

“Safety car is ending. You’re leading the pack.”

Mattia pinched his bottom lip. It was obvious that Charles would have a difficulty keeping the car on the track. Not to mention keeping the lead.

_He just needs to survive one lap before we can judge the conditions._

Mattia was more worried about Sebastian who was on intermediates. If the rain would intensify, he would have to stop again, losing the advantage.

Charles managed the restart perfectly and even built a small gap.

Sebastian overtook two cars on a straight and carefully braked for a corner.

“If we pit Charles now, he’ll end up last,” Laurent said.

Mattia looked at the guy sat next to him on the pit wall. “I don’t think we have a choice.” When he turned his head, he saw the mechanics running out of the garage, preparing for a pit stop. Hearing a loud moan coming from the crowds, he quickly turned back to the screens just in time to see Charles’ car hitting a barier at the end of a damp gravel trap.

“You okay, Charles?”

“Yes… Just… for fuck’s sake, how was I supposed to continue on these tyres?”

“We’ll talk later.”

Mattia sat up, his face numb. The safety car was out for a third time…

Chaos broke out in the pit lane. Some drivers put on full wets, but most of them chose intermediates. Same as Sebastian who had already stopped which promoted him to the third position. Max was the leader with Valtteri behind.

“Keep working on those tyres.” Adami’s calm voice sounded to Mattia like a voice of a guardian angel.

In his mind Mattia could already see Nicolas waiting in the garage, ready to lash out on him… It was easy to guess his arguments.

“Safety Car is in this lap.”

_Here we go again._

Sebastian was cautious to a point of looking clumsy. But he stayed third through the wettest conditions.

As the race continued, the rain stopped, and dry patches started appearing on the track.

“It’s good for slicks,” Sebastian informed over the radio.

“Are you sure?” his guardian angel did his duty.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Pit, Sebastian, pit.”

The next few minutes were the most stressful of the entire season.

Sebastian went out on a new set of slick tyres but was struggling to heat them up. Mattia feared that they made a mistake. The German started losing time to Max and Valtteri.

When Mattia felt warmth on his cheek, he looked at the sky and saw the sun shining through the clouds. For the first time since they arrived in China.

Sebastian did a purple sector.

“Good job, Sebastian. Head down. Everyone is in the pit lane now. We cleared Valtteri, but it will be close with Max.”

Racing Max was nerve-wrecking enough in normal conditions and the track wasn’t fully dried yet. Neither one of the two drivers was going to back off and Mattia feared their hunger for a win would lead to a disaster.

His memory replayed him scenes of Sebastian’s car spinning…

When the German was approaching the pit lane exit, he saw Max drive out in front of him. But Sebastian’s tyres were hotter, so he pushed hard for an overtake.

Mattia could smell the sweat of the guys sitting next to him. He was sweating too.

_Keep him safe, God. Protect him from wrong moves…_

The time was working in Max’s favour so if Sebastian wanted to overtake him, he needed to do it as soon as possible.

Seeing Sebastian dive into a corner, Mattia looked away from the screen waiting for another collective moan. But instead he heard wild cheers behind his back. It was his own team cheering, so he knew he can safely look back at the monitor.

_What am I even doing?_ he scolded himself in his mind.

Sebastian was leading the race. Safe and sound. During a replay, Mattia saw that the overtake was clean and precise.

_How could I doubt in him?_

* * *

When Sebastian finally took the chequered flag, it started raining again.

Mattia hugged Laurent, he felt like crying with relief. Nobody would notice with the rain falling on his glasses.

“Wonderful victory, Sebastian showed his skills today,” a reporter from Sky Sport F1 said to him. “Do you feel responsible for what happened to Charles or was it a driver mistake? Does he need more experience or more patience to avoid mistakes like that?”

“No… Charles is not a rookie. It wasn’t his mistake. The weather was changing quickly, and we needed one more lap to choose the right tyres. If we pitted him earlier, he would’ve lost track position, so we decided to keep him out, which in hindsight you can call a mistake. But we couldn’t know what the weather will do.” Mattia out of the corner of his eye could see Sebastian jump out of his car. He wished he could be with him instead of explaining obvious things.

“Can you confirm that Charles himself chose the setup yesterday?”

“Charles has his preferences. In changing track conditions every choice is a gamble. Sebastian took a gamble as well. But first, I would like to say that we’re proud of him. Not just of how he drove but also of the feedback he kept giving us. He has a great instinct when it comes to judging track conditions.”

“His battle with Max was outstanding. Shame it only lasted one lap.”

“Well…” Mattia laughed. “Sebastian was too quick, I guess. He showed once again that he is a champion. It’s not a surprise for us, because we know we have the best drivers.”

The cameras showed Sebastian getting hugs and cuddles from his mechanics. Mattia smiled, but the reporter brought him down to earth.

“In an interview after his crash Charles suggested that from the weather forecast it was obvious to the team that Seb is going to have the upper hand. So in a natural way you focused on maximising Sebastian’s advantage, meanwhile Charles was just… driving to survive…”

Mattia frowned. “He was the leader of the race and his chances were quite high at the beginning. Sebastian needed help from the rain and safety cars. It’s not like we could plan that into our strategy.”

“This victory will most certainly give Sebastian a confidence boost. He’s finally ahead of his teammate in the classification.”

“He is? I had no time to check…”

More reporters were waiting in line. Mattia cleared his throat, already feeling tired and irritated with the annoying and repetitive questions they were going to ask.

_Hang in there_, he kept telling himself. _That’s your job. Let the others celebrate._

He was still being interviewed when he heard the German national anthem. He cut the interview short and hurried to the podium, hoping to get closer for the Italian anthem.

He made it, his hair and clothes wet with rain. He could barely see between the drops on his glasses.

Someone handed him an umbrella.

Sebastian’s eyes were searching through the crowd. And even though Mattia couldn’t see clearly, he felt his gaze. Sebastian’s face lit up with the most beautiful smile as he lifted his hand and pointed at his boss.

_No, don’t point at me. You are the winner._

* * *

Safety car, mistake, strategic error, inexperienced, responsibility, blame, choice, leader, classification, number one, championship, criticism…

Charles, Charles, Charles…

Mattia felt a temptation to smash the microphone when he heard yet another question about Charles. But he was a gentle man so instead he fiddled with it hoping it would break. People were using the word “calm” when describing him for a reason. When he was angry, he was just appearing numb and he ostentatiously avoided eye contact.

“We have two drivers. One of them had bad luck today. I would prefer to talk about the one who won the race.”

“Isn’t this Ferrari’s problem? That the driver who needs support is suddenly being ignored?”

_You’re worried about it NOW? When Charles is the victim?_

“Charles is doing great, he doesn’t need any special support, because what happened today could’ve happened to anyone. It happened to Sebastian in the past. I don’t think it’s a sign of… anything.”

“Sebastian is second in the classification now, not far from Lewis. Meanwhile Charles landed in fifth position…”

“The season has only begun, there’s a lot of points to win.”

“Do you think that your drivers should be more careful? Two DNF’s in four races… Meanwhile Mercedes is regularly collecting points.”

“DNF’s can happen for many reasons. It’s obvious that I would love to avoid them, but we can’t fix the past. I’m sure we can still catch up.”

_I want to go home… _

He felt exhausted and looked exhausted. He started to feel guilty as if the race result was manipulated.

When he finally answered all the questions, trudging to the garage he realized that he hasn’t seen Nicolas yet. Maybe Laurent or Jock got to him first and explained that they didn’t leave Charles on dry tyres to provoke a crash.

Mattia had an impression that Charles understands his situation. Charles knew what was going on. Unlike Nicolas. Nicolas only cared about benefits for Charles. Unearned benefits as well.

On one hand, it was great to have such a dedicated manager. But on the other… Nicolas was creating enemies for Charles. What Charles was doing in the car was a great currency. Not Nicolas’ overambitious demands. The young Todt kept issuing bills for potential future services, putting even more pressure on Leclerc’s shoulders.

_Why am I worrying about Charles? He’s not the one who’s going to get kicked out if he doesn’t win the title this year._

Mattia entered the garage, running fingers through his hair. The sight of the mechanics celebrating made him feel better.

Someone yanked him by the arm.

“Looks like I was lucky with that setup after all!”

Before Mattia managed to react, Sebastian was already hanging on his neck. Mattia smiled and embraced him tightly. He could see the photographers in the pit lane, but he didn’t care.

_Hugging your winning driver is a normal thing._

Only when Sebastian leaned away and looked him in the eye, Mattia felt heat coming to his face and got worried that he wasn’t fully under control of it.

_I’m happy because my driver won the race. That’s all…_

_No, that’s not all. I’m happy because he is happy. I care about him…_

“Were you freaking out on the pit wall?” Sebastian grinned.

“No, I was yawning.”

Sebastian was still clinging to his arm as if he knew that Mattia needed his closeness to relax. Sebastian’s happiness was the only thing that mattered.

“Don’t get a hard on.”

Mattia turned abruptly; Sebastian moved away from him hearing the words.

Nicolas went past them with a grim smile on his face. Charles followed, but it seemed as if the young driver didn’t hear his manager’s words.

“Congratulations,” he extended his hand to the race winner.

“Sorry that you didn’t have more luck,” Sebastian shook Charles’ hand. “You were great in the first stint.”

Britta appeared in the corridor. “Everything is ready. We’re waiting for you.”

Someone handed Sebastian his trophy.

A couple of minutes later Mattia took a spot in the middle of his team, right behind Sebastian, to pose for a couple of celebratory photos.

There wasn’t much room to breathe and sometimes Sebastian would rest his back against Mattia’s chest.

At one point both drivers decided to crouch down and the back of Sebastian’s head rubbed against Mattia’s crotch.

Mattia swallowed hard, wondering if Nicolas was watching him.

The young Todt made him anxious about his every move as if he had something to hide.

* * *

** _A couple of days later, somewhere in Italy_ **

“You want to hear my advice?” Maurizio sat back in an armchair, blue smoke curling upwards from his cigarette. “Don’t listen to the motherfuckers. They don’t know _un cazzo_. You’re going to get fired anyway.”

Mattia took a sip of whiskey, struggling not to cough. Maurizio’s man cave was a dark, smoke-filled place, but he had nowhere else to go. He needed to talk to someone he could trust, an insider that was already out and free.

“You think I will fail?”

Maurizio pulled on his cigarette. “Depends on what your objectives are. It’s your second year as team principal and many things have improved, but I think this year could’ve started better.”

“It’s not about my objectives. I was told to focus on Charles because the board wants to replace Sebastian with Max next year.”

Maurizio started coughing and couldn’t talk for a moment.

Mattia handed him a glass of water.

Maurizio took a long swig and finally calmed down. “They’re writing him off so early… That’s sad.”

“I’m not going to let them do it,” Mattia said with conviction. “I don’t think it’s fair.”

Maurizio made a noise that sounded like a cough again, but turned out to be a laugh. “You’re such a sweetheart, Mattia. Too soft, way too soft for the job.”

Mattia clenched his jaws. He hated when people called him soft, only because he never showed negative emotions. “I can deal with the board. It’s Nicolas Todt that I’m worried about. He’s a slimy man and I think he’s gathering material to blackmail me.”

“Material? You mean like 'dirt'?”

Mattia took another sip of whiskey; it kept tasting better. “He likes making suggestions that I have… improper feelings for Sebastian.”

Maurizio smirked. “Do you?”

“Of course not!” Mattia snapped before realizing that his reaction was exaggerated.

“He’s pushing your buttons because it works,” Maurizio noticed. “I was just asking and look how irritated you’ve become.”

"I’m a married man and I hate these accusations.”

“Okay, calm down. So… does Nicolas have any proof of his claims?”

Mattia reached for a bottle to refill his glass. “I invited Sebastian to spend the night in my hotel because there was no electricity in some parts of the district and… Nicolas saw us in the morning leaving the suit together.”

“A driver and his team principal sharing a hotel suit? That’s… unusual, but the only person you need to explain what happened is your wife. Just in case she sees something in a tabloid.”

“I’ve already done that. I also told her that I’m hugging both of my drivers, not just Sebastian.”

“As long as you're hugging them in a public space, it’s fine.”

Mattia downed another whiskey. _Does an F1 paddock in the dark count as a public space?_

“He has nothing on you. He’s just fishing, and your reaction made him believe that there might be something to it.”

“How am I supposed to react?!”

“Don’t raise your voice for starters. Your face is all red… Man, I can’t believe this is a sensitive topic for you.”

Mattia let out a heavy sigh, his head getting heavy with the alcohol. “They told me to ignore Sebastian and focus on Charles, but… I’m not doing it. I’m risking my job, my dream job… for Sebastian. Why?” he looked up into Maurizio’s eyes.

The ex-Ferrari principal was watching him intently. “It’s a good question,” he said slowly. “You’ve chosen Vettel over Ferrari.”

“Who’s Ferrari though? Is Ferrari the corporate board that moves the money and decides who’s good enough and who isn’t? Or is it the guys in the garage, the guys crunching the numbers on the pit wall, the people in the factory and the people in red filling the stands in Monza? Isn’t that the real Ferrari?”

Maurizio rolled his eyes. “Stop deflecting. I can't figure out your motivations for you, Mattia. All I know is that you’re playing a dangerous game. But I have good news for you,” he reached out and gave Mattia a strong pat on the shoulder. “You’re fucked no matter what you do, so you can as well stick to your plan. Don’t let Nicolas get under your skin. Sooner or later he’ll move on. Maybe he'll even start to blackmail the board with his connections to the FIA. That would open their eyes and who knows, maybe you'll have two Red Bull drivers in your team next year.”

Mattia stared into an empty glass. “He doesn’t have to blackmail the board, because they are already on his side.”

“Right, you're their only problem. So... make sure that you are also their only solution.”

Mattia nodded. “I have a plan.”

Maurizio put out his cigarette. “You always do.”


	4. Team orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say he is too soft. They are wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy with how this fic is doing. Better than I expected. Big thanks to those who keep commenting and sending me messages. You give me the motivation to keep writing.

**Monaco GP 2020, Sunday**

“Another race, another wasted pole position. You’re very quick in qualifying, but your drivers keep losing time fighting each other on Sundays. Wouldn’t it be the right time to consider team orders or are you not using them because you’re aware that your drivers won’t obey them?” Ted Kravitz put a microphone to Mattia’s lips.

Mattia let out a noise that sounded like a half moan, a half sigh. “It’s different things. Different details that can go wrong during races. And our competitors are great at taking advantage of our mistakes. We didn’t have the pace to compete with Mercedes in Netherlands and in Spain. Today was a bit different. Charles was on pole, so he was allowed to stay in front. But Sebastian had a better race pace, so he was free to race Charles. We knew he wouldn’t take too much risk, so I think it was quite fair.”

“But it allowed Max to get ahead and take the race win. Valtteri passed Sebastian in the drivers’ championship. I mean… it’s pretty unusual for Ferrari to not use team orders, especially in such obvious circumstances.”

“It wasn’t that obvious to me. I think it’s too early to commit to one driver…”

“Well, you could start with protecting the one in the lead.”

“In the lead of the race or the championship?”

Ted laughed. “The race, of course.”

“You mean that one quick lap on Saturday is more important than a lot of quick laps on Sunday? The driver on pole is not always the one with the quickest race pace.”

“I understand. I’m just surprised that you prefer losing points instead of telling your drivers to keep position.”

“I think I already explained everything.”

What Mattia wanted to say was that he is the team principal and he won’t get any lessons from a reporter wearing sandals, but he was too polite to do that.

“You want team orders or not, Ted?”

“I don’t.”

“There you go, we didn’t use them. You should be happy.”

* * *

“I’m not happy with how this race went… I was on pole, I was controlling the pace…” Charles was still upset during the debrief after the race. “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be allowed to race, but it wasn’t smart. We should’ve waited until the pit stop and maybe battle it out in the second stint.”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t pushing that much. I was just trying to force an error.”

“But you knew that we were losing time to Max after he pitted…”

“I backed off when he pitted, but you didn’t pick up the pace.”

“My tyres were in bad shape… Because of what you were doing…”

Mattia rubbed his temples. “Okay, that’s enough. We know what happened.”

They sat silent for a while until Inaki cleared his throat. “It was a mistake. The situation was controllable, but we failed to do it. We have to be more rigorous next time.”

Mattia shook his head. Suddenly, the room felt claustrophobic. “I’m sorry, I don’t feel well.” He picked himself up with an effort and trudged to the door. Someone rushed after him.

“Yeah… go suck his dick…”

Mattia turned his head. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” Charles’ face was so innocent…

_Maybe I overheard…_

Mattia left the room and headed straight to the bathroom. The corridor seemed too narrow, he stretched out his hands, the walls closing in on him. His fingers shaking, he pushed the door handle.

_Where am I even going? I need to sit down._

“Do you want me to get you some water?” Sebastian asked.

_Jesus Christ, he’s behind me…_

“No… get back to…”

Sebastian locked the door behind them and put a hand on Mattia’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Are you dizzy? Here…” He approached a sink and turned the cold water on. “Splash your face with water.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, unlike being locked together in a bathroom.

“Unlock the door,” Mattia ordered, waiting for the water to fill his joined palms.

“I wanted to talk.”

“Unlock that door!” He never raised his voice before and the confusion on Sebastian’s face was understandable.

But he did as told, while Mattia splashed his face with water, feeling no relief.

“I just wanted to thank you for letting me race Charles even though it was probably a mistake… I should’ve known better.”

Mattia looked into the mirror, just to see a reflection of Sebastian’s concerned face.

“Are you feeling better?” the German put a hand on Mattia’s back, making him shiver all over.

“Don’t touch me, please.”

Sebastian moved the hand away, frowning. “Are you angry with me?”

Mattia cringed with a sudden pang of guilt. “No… never…” He barely fought the urge to comfort his driver with a touch, the same way Sebastian was trying to comfort him. But the door was unlocked… And Nicolas was in the building. And Charles clearly knew something…

“I’m trying to be professional,” Mattia explained. “And neutral. Giving you both equal opportunities. Just as I promised at the start of the season.”

“We’re letting you down,” Sebastian sighed. “I need to talk to Charles. We’ve been selfish…”

Mattia felt warmth in his chest. “Selfish racing drivers. Never heard of that before.”

“We can do better. And we will. I don’t want you to lose your amazing hair because of us.”

Mattia looked his older driver in the eye. He wanted to hug him so much, and he could see the same yearning in Sebastian’s eyes.

_Just a small hug. Two or three seconds…_

He didn’t need to say a word, he just opened his arms and the boy jumped into his embrace.

“Don’t give up,” Sebastian whispered, burying his face in Mattia’s shirt.

“Never.” Mattia rubbed his cheek over Sebastian’s hair.

_What the fuck am I doing?_

Sebastian was clinging to him so tightly, he couldn’t move. And he didn’t even want to move. Everything was fine again, he felt warm and cosy, the world stopped spinning.

Someone pushed the door open. Mattia and Sebastian hastily moved away from each other.

_Fuck… _

Seeing Nicolas’ smug face, Mattia felt like hit by a train.

“You’re getting a bit too obvious,” the Frenchman said, heading to a stall. “You should get a hotel room. Again.”

Sebastian fixed his shirt, blushing.

_I told him to unlock the door… It’s my fault_, Mattia realized, following the German out of the bathroom.

“Is the debrief still on?” Sebastian asked, he still wasn’t making eye contact.

“No, you're free to go.”

The German turned away and left.

Mattia pondered the idea of telling him about the rumours Nicolas seemed to be spreading about them.

_See, we need to be cautious around each other, because some people think that we’re having an affair…_

No, he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. It was too absurd.

* * *

“I’m calling to tell you that the board is unhappy with the way you’re leading the team.”

Mattia sat back in the chair, looking out the glass walls of his office in Maranello. He could see Charles and Sebastian sitting on a bench in the hall and talking.

“We gave you clear instructions and you’re not following them.”

“It’s not that simple…”

“You made it complicated yourself. Next time, you’re going to use team orders without hesitation. And your drivers will listen.”

Sebastian and Charles were laughing together like two best friends.

“They won’t listen, you know that.”

“Tell Vettel that he should listen, if he still wants a contract.”

“Is that your new condition? He just needs to become a number two?”

Camilleri made a snorting noise. “Of course not. Nothing’s changed. If he’s not leading the championship after Monza, we’re singing Max.”

“Look… I’m not going to force him into submission by lying to him. It wouldn’t work anyway. He knows his worth.”

“Does he? I think he’ll have a hard time finding a team next year.”

“He could go to his old team. Maybe he’s already in talks with them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Christian has no clue of what Max is planning. And as long as he has Max, he doesn’t need anyone else.”

“Well, it doesn’t take long to sign a driver if he’s out of a contract.”

“Don’t even try mentioning anything to Horner. He’s going to spill the beans to Sebastian straight away. And he’d be crushed. Can you imagine how that would affect his racing this year? We need maximum points from him. Well, not maximum. That’s Charles’ job.”

Mattia rubbed his temples, the conversation was giving him a headache.

“Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s not going to work,” Camilleri continued. “We respect you and we believe in you, but if you keep working against us… well, nobody is irreplaceable.”

Mattia grimaced, a spike of pain piercing through his stomach.

Maurizio had assured him that he won’t get fired and he believed him. But now he wasn’t so sure.

“My job is to win the title with Ferrari,” he said. “Please, let me do my job.”

“As you wish. Just don’t take us for fools.” Camilleri ended the call.

* * *

For the next couple of days Mattia kept going back to that conversation.

_Do they really want to fire me or is it a bluff?_

He kept thinking about his wife and his children and the support he was giving them thanks to his high earnings. He’s been working at Ferrari his whole life. He couldn’t even imagine looking for a job somewhere else… That would mean redefining his entire career, his worldview, his whole identity.

_And why? Because I don’t want to give up on one German driver…_

Was he being sentimental? Or just stubborn? Maybe he simply didn’t want to let go of the vision of Sebastian being the next Michael? So many people believed in it as well in 2015. Now Mattia seemed to be the only one keeping the faith.

It wasn’t rational. It was emotional. Should a team principal act on his emotions?

_Maybe Maurizio was right. Maybe I’m too soft?_

His phone rang; Mattia picked it up.

“How are you, it’s Simone. I just went through the 2021 projects you approved. Wanted to double check.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… you’ve chosen a different direction than I was told you would. The higher downforce profile for example… I’ve been told we don’t have to accommodate Sebastian’s driving style in 2021. Or am I wrong?”

Mattia chewed on his lip. Looked like the board shared the news with his crew without letting him know. “There’s a possibility of Max joining us in the future, and he’s used to a lot of downforce. I think it will work in our favour no matter the driver.”

“Well… I would agree, but… Charles…”

“Charles is good enough to adjust. You can be sure about that. More downforce is always good. Stick to my recommendations, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mattia put the phone down, wondering if that wasn’t the beginning of the end of his career.

* * *

**Azerbaijan GP 2020, Sunday**

“Charles, it’s Laurent. Let Sebastian pass.”

Mattia was stressed out of his mind, but there was also a sense of crude satisfaction blooming in his heart.

_You wanted team orders? Then have some._

“Yeah, but you pitted me too early…”

“He’s on a different strategy. Let him pass.”

To nobody's surprise, the young driver kept blocking his teammate. For a second Mattia hoped Sebastian would get a nicer exit and overtake Charles with the DRS. But it didn’t work out, Charles was too good in defending.

“He’s right behind you, you won’t lose much time,” Mekies added politely.

Another lap later Charles was still holding Sebastian up. Mattia pushed the radio button.

“Charles, it’s Mattia. We’ve talked about this. Let Sebastian by.” He could only hope he’s voice didn’t sound as goofy as it seemed to his own ears.

He was aware that everyone's attention was focused on Ferrari. They were already looking like idiots after the last race.

When Charles finally complied, Mattia sighed with relief. Once in clear air, Sebastian started pulling off purple sectors.

* * *

“Finally! It was a dominant win for Sebastian. Possibly one of his best drives for Scuderia Ferrari. You must be relieved."

The cheers of joy around Ferrari’s garage were deafening. Ted Kravitz was screaming in his face and Mattia still couldn’t hear him well. He just hoped his own voice will be audible.

“Not relieved. Just satisfied and proud. Overtaking three opponents in four laps is something you rarely see. The strategy wasn’t perfect, but Sebastian made it work. This win is all his achievement. We owe it to him.”

“Were there any issues with Charles’ car? He seemed to lack pace compared to his teammate.”

Mattia frowned. “Yes, there was an issue with a sensor, but we managed to get around it. I’m sure it was distracting.”

“The team orders seemed to have distracted him as well. He locked up a couple of times.”

“Yes, that happens… But we think he still did a good job. He was very close to the podium.”

“Sebastian’s back in the second position in the classification. With the form he has shown today, I think Lewis’ advantage doesn’t seem so big.”

Mattia smiled. “We have a very close battle this year, yes. That’s what we hoped for. And I think the fans are enjoying that as well.”

He felt amazing while walking back to his team. His people were celebrating again, even though the celebrations were less evident on Charles’ side of the garage. He used team orders, just as the board wanted. Team orders that were so blatantly obvious and logical, that nobody even tried to dispute them.

Mattia spotted a sweaty Sebastian in the corridor. Champagne was still dripping down his head as if he’d forgotten what towels are made for.

Mattia smiled broadly, anticipating a wild hug…

He nearly tripped over a small person that suddenly appeared in front of him.

“You sabotaged Charles’ car and I know it.” It was Nicolas, of course.

Mattia scowled at him. “Get out of my way.”

The young Todt looked him in the eye and stepped aside.

“Wise choice,” Mattia grunted. Five seconds later he was holding a very happy Sebastian in his arms and nothing else mattered.


	5. And now I'm drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian's season goes downhill. After having a chat with Christian and Maurizio, Mattia decides to talk about the "affair" to Sebastian and his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very happy with the feedback, thank you guys! I'm glad that this story attracted even those who initially weren't convinced by the pairing or who don't read slash fics. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. I know I enjoyed it a lot, and I can tell by the fact that it only took me two days to write it and it's not that short. :) I can't wait to share the rest of the story with you. Let me know what you think. Every comment means the world, even the shortest.

Mattia scurried into the Gestione Sportiva building, ran up the stairs and hurried to a room with an IT Security sign on the door.

The door opened when he was still a few steps away and a small, bald man appeared, inviting him in with a hand gesture. “I saw you coming. I know you’re in a hurry.”

“My flight to Canada is in an hour,” Mattia said. “Thank you for staying after hours to meet me.”

“You said it’s urgent and I believe you.” The man handed Mattia an old pendrive with a coca-cola logo on it. “Looks like junk, doesn’t?”

“Yes, that’s smart.” Mattia grabbed the pendrive, it felt tiny in his hand. Such a small device, now containing the only copies of project blueprints for 2021 from all the departments. “I don’t want you to think that I have no trust in your work,” he said, looking the man in the eye. “I’m confident that you’ll keep us safe from hackers.”

“I know. You already explained. If there’s really a mole in your team, we need to use old school methods. I’m just worried how Simone and the others will react when they discover that they have no access to their files.”

“I’ll handle them. In the meantime, tell everyone to keep their hard drives as clean as possible. I don’t want multiple copies of confidential projects being stacked on computers or, God forbid, smaller devices.”

“Not sure how you want to continue the research…”

“It’s only temporary. The risk is just too high. I’ve made some powerful enemies, but I intend to fix it.”

“Let’s hope everything goes back to normal soon.”

“I hope so too. Thank you once again.”

“Have a safe journey. And Forza Ferrari.”

“Forza Ferrari,” Mattia replied, putting the pendrive into a small pocket on his chest.

* * *

**Canadian GP 2020**

Sometimes faith is not enough. Sometimes you can do everything right, work out every small detail and give it your best, but the bad luck will still mess with your plans.

It had to be bad luck. The other scenario and its implications were scaring the shit out of Mattia. He expected Nicolas to try to ruin Sebastian’s races, but… was he capable of causing an “accidental” engine failure?

Mattia scolded himself. He trusted his people. They wouldn’t agree to sabotage Ferrari only because some French weasel waved a stack of money at them. What else could he offer? Working for Ferrari required loyalty. Mattia had full trust in his people’s loyalty.

_What about your own loyalty?_

He suddenly felt a strong nausea, drops of sweat appearing on his temples.

_I need to stay calm. I’m on live TV. I can’t throw up on the pit wall._

He kept feeling worse and at some point, he had no choice, he had to leave and go to the garage.

The faces of Sebastian’s mechanics were speaking for themselves. Mattia picked up his pace, feeling acid at the back of his throat.

“Are you going to cry?” Nicolas caught him near the toilets. Felt like a suitable place for a shitty person like him.

“Don’t push your luck.” Mattia went past him, stumbled into the toilet, got onto his knees and started throwing up. The noise of the ongoing race didn’t seem loud enough to grant him privacy.

He still had the headphones on, and he could hear a clear instruction from the engine room. Charles’ engine was now working in safety mode. The younger driver was at risk of a DNF as well. It was a good proof that it was just an unlucky failure, not a sabotage orchestrated by Nicolas.

_Of course, it’s not a sabotage. Stop getting paranoid. _

Mattia picked himself up from his knees. He had to freeze for a couple of seconds, until his head stopped spinning. After approaching the sink, he rinsed his mouth and splashed his face with cold water.

Even in normal circumstances he was quite pale, but once he looked up and saw his own face in the mirror, he was taken aback by how unhealthy it appeared.

_It’s not over. That’s only one race. Only 25 points… There’s still time to catch up… Sebastian is in an amazing form. Next race he will shine again!_

When he left the bathroom, Nicolas was gone. Sebastian was back in the garage, hugging his mechanics and trying to lift their spirits.

_God, he doesn’t understand that he’s the only loser here… _Mattia felt tears coming to his eyes. He had no strength to confront his driver. He didn’t want Sebastian to see his face and to figure out that this simple DNF was more serious than it appeared.

* * *

The race finished with a Mercedes 1-2. And a phone call from Elkann.

“Sebastian had back luck. Maybe it’s a sign from God that you should finally give up.”

“If you’re suggesting that an engine failure was a part of my plan you should probably rethink some stuff.”

“It was about time someone taught you a lesson. Good thing that fate did the job for us.”

“I would never suspect that losing points will give you so much satisfaction…”

“Don’t psychoanalyse me, okay? I respect you, Mattia, but it’s time to face the truth. Vettel’s not going to lead the classification after the Italian GP. Or ever. You’re betting on the wrong horse and if you keep doing that, everyone will suffer.”

“I’m not done yet. We’ll talk in Monza.”

“As you wish, but don’t expect to hear anything new.”

* * *

**Hungarian GP 2020, Friday afternoon**

Walking down the paddock, Mattia hoped to run into Christian, but their paths had not crossed. Until that afternoon, when Mattia spotted the Red Bull principal in front of the Ferrari motorhome.

“I’m looking for a place serving good coffee.”

Mattia took his hands out of his pockets, feeling like a gunman before a duel. “You’re at the right address. Come on in.”

Some reporters outside noticed the unusual meeting and started taking pictures. Mattia didn’t mind. They had enough privacy to talk without being heard.

He was curious of what brought Christian to him. He didn’t trust him and had no intentions to share secrets, but he knew that hiding the truth would be also difficult. He would never want to play poker with Christian. Or have court dealings with him. Horner was a political animal; he always knew what to say.

“Charles is flying again,” the Red Bull principal started the conversation. “A very impressive middle part of the season. Two consecutive one-twos for Ferrari. Silverstone wasn’t bad either. Toto looks stressed; it’s a pleasure to see.”

Mattia reached for his phone just to put it away. _Stop fidgeting_, he told himself in his mind. _He came to you, let him talk first…_

“Your new star is outclassing Lewis Hamilton,” Christian said before taking a sip of coffee.

_Not just him_, Mattia thought. In the last three GP’s, Charles collected two wins and one second place, earning twenty more points than Sebastian. Lewis was still leading in the classification, but Valtteri was only seven point behind. Charles was third. He overtook Sebastian after winning in France. Nicolas was very happy about that.

There were only ten points between Charles and Sebastian, but from Mattia’s point of view, Charles wasn’t Sebastian’s rival. Lewis was. Now the German had only Hungary, Belgium and Italy to outscore Lewis by 23 points. With Charles and Valtteri having such good runs, it seemed like an impossible task.

“Sebastian had little luck so far this year,” Mattia said with a sigh. “His position is not telling the whole story about his form. He’s driving very well and he’s not making mistakes. But sometimes it’s not enough.”

Christian narrowed his eyes. “I’m glad you’re still defending him and showing him your appreciation. Next year’s regulation changes will unlock his full potential.”

Mattia studied Christian’s face. “I hope he’ll have more luck as well.”

Christian looked away, with a little smile. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours about his alleged departure from Ferrari. And about him re-joining my team.”

“It’s only a rumour. Silly season nonsense.”

“I agree. I would even add, that sometimes the drivers themselves spread similar rumours because it gives them a boost in contract negotiations. But Sebastian’s not playing games, right? I can’t even imagine what I would do if he asked for a number one status… With the talent that Leclerc is showing now… I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

Mattia kept a poker face. _These are not my shoes…_

He couldn’t figure out Christian’s intentions. From what he knew, Sebastian had good relationship with his ex-boss, but then why would Christian warn Mattia about possible “games” from Sebastian’s side?

_Probably because he doesn’t want Sebastian’s seat to get empty because he’s worried that Max will want to fill it._

It looked like Christian had no idea that Max was leaving his team. But knowing Christian, he was probably just pretending not to know, to lure Mattia into a trap and make him say something he wasn’t supposed to say?

“I care about Sebastian a lot,” Mattia said openly. “I want him in my team for as long as he’s willing to stay.”

“There’s a snake in your garden.” Christian unexpectedly took off a mask of a politician and leaned closer to Mattia. “Watch your steps.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just be careful. And don’t ignite rumours.”

_Oh, so he’s not talking about contracts…_

Mattia had no doubt that Nicolas’ fake accusations were spreading in the paddock. He hoped that the people who knew him, would easily consider them untrue. But now it seemed that the situation was more serious, if even Horner himself felt the need to warn him.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Christian put the empty cup down. “I care about Sebastian too. I know his family. I wouldn’t want his career to end in such a sad way.”

Mattia nodded, turning his attention to the reporters outside.

“Take care,” Christian patted him on the shoulder and left.

Mattia remained motionless, Christian’s words echoing in his mind. _There’s a snake in your garden… Watch your steps._

* * *

**Summer break of 2020, Maurizio’s man cave**

“It was that goddamned engine failure in Canada. Everything went downhill afterwards,” Mattia complained.

Maurizio didn’t even ask; he just poured him some whiskey and left the bottle next to the glass.

“Your strategic decisions weren’t brilliant either. Thank God, Red Bull is having another hopeless season and we have only Mercedes to worry about,” Maurizio commented, his voice hoarse. He was suffering from a cold, which didn’t stop him from smoking.

“Speaking of Red Bull,” Mattia waved his hand to fan the smoke away from his face. “Christian stopped by our cafeteria to have a chat.”

Maurizio’s eyebrows went up. “He never came to chat with me. I would’ve ignored him anyway.” A sardonic smile appeared on his face. “I enjoyed winding him up. Even though he was good at hiding it. He’s a skilled player.”

Mattia swallowed down some whiskey. “Talking to him is a weird experience. He never says anything straight out. Or maybe he does, but you never know when.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted to warn me about the rumours, I guess. He said that there’s a snake in my garden and for Sebastian and his family’s sake I should watch my steps.”

Maurizio snatched a handkerchief out of the pocket in his bathrobe and wiped his nose. “You think he was talking about the rumour that you’re fucking your driver?”

Mattia cringed. He hated the way it sounded. “What else could he have meant? Have you seen any articles about it?”

Maurizio shook his head. “Something just doesn’t sit right about this whole situation, but I can’t put my finger on it… Nobody believes that nonsense about you and Sebastian. Everyone knows how much Sebastian loves his family.”

“I was hoping that once Charles takes a higher spot in the classification, Nicolas wold stop putting obstacles in my way.”

“Are you favouring his driver?”

“Of course not.”

“Don’t expect him to suddenly start kissing your hands then.”

“I’m worried. If even Christian felt alarmed…”

“Maybe he wanted to make you blush? You know, to find out if there’s a shred of truth in these accusations…”

“I didn’t blush, I’m sure of it.”

“He’s probably jealous. We’ve stolen his golden boy. I bet he dreamt of getting a piece of that fine German ass when Sebastian was younger and who knows, maybe he even succeeded?”

Mattia glared at Maurizio. “You’re too old to talk like this.”

Maurizio burst out laughing, his laughter turned into coughing which oddly enough, stopped after he lit up another cigarette. “I was just joking. If you want my advice, I would talk to Sebastian about these rumours. And maybe to his wife as well. Once you clear it up with them, you’ll feel relieved. And you’ll be able to focus on other, more important things.”

Mattia felt dryness in his throat. “I don’t know if I have the courage…”

“You're such an ass! What’s the problem now? Sebastian was in this house many times when I was his boss. With his entire family. I visited him in Switzerland and in Gardone. Just pay him a visit. He’ll be delighted. And you’ll have an opportunity to talk. Not just about the rumours, but… maybe other things as well.”

“You want me to tell him about the contract? I would have to make him promise that he won’t tell anyone. Especially Christian. And why would he keep a secret and protect Ferrari’s interests if Ferrari is giving him the boot?”

“How do you know that he hasn’t figured it out already? Maybe that’s the reason why Christian wanted to talk to you? Maybe he’s also having secret negotiations with someone else’s driver?”

“That would be great… I don’t want to be the person who tells Sebastian that he’s no longer welcomed in Maranello.”

“Maybe you’re the best person to let him know… It would give him time to prepare. He won’t be as shocked when he’ll hear the news about Ferrari signing Max.”

Mattia pictured Sebastian’s reaction in his mind.

_He’ll never forgive me… Should I keep lying to him? Is that what ‘caring’ is about?_

* * *

**A week later, Gardone, Italy**

A security guard opened the gate.

“Thank you; have a good evening,” Mattia rolled the car window back up.

Sebastian bought a villa in Gardone when he was still driving for Red Bull. Mattia heard that Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull's owner, also lived here. George Clooney was once interested in buying a place in the neighbourhood, if rumours were true.

In a gated community close to lake Garda, Sebastian’s family was able to enjoy the privacy they cherished so much.

Mattia spotted the villa that Sebastian had described to him over the phone. The road led through another gate, but this one was open ajar. Mattia continued down the driveway and parked his Ferrari next to Sebastian’s Ferrari.

After getting out of the car, he reached for his black suit jacket and put it on. His shirt was already wrinkled, even though the drive from Maranello wasn’t long.

He picked up the flowers for Hanna and a bag with a bottle of an expensive wine and some plush toys for Sebastian’s children.

He closed the car and headed to the door. He pressed the doorbell. It was too quiet inside. _Didn’t they have a dog? Maybe they left him in Switzerland._

As Mattia was running his fingers through his hair, the door finally opened.

Sebastian welcomed him with a warm smile. “Greetings, boss! You look great. I see you’ve brought gifts… Well, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“Bad news.” Mattia entered the villa, looking around. It was too quiet; he should’ve known what it meant.

“Hanna and the kids are still in Switzerland. They will arrive tomorrow. I was feeling lonely, so I thought… that maybe you won’t mind…”

Mattia looked over his shoulder, the door was still open. A warning voice in his head was yelling at him to leave.

“What’s the good news?”

Sebastian closed the door. “I’ve got beer.”

* * *

They ended up on a couch, watching a football match and eating junk food. Mattia enjoyed it, because he liked football and he rarely had time to watch a game in peace.

Sebastian kept jumping to his feet in front of the TV, making all kinds of theatrical gestures depending on what was happening on the screen. Mattia was sitting calmly. The German made him giggle a couple of times.

Mattia made sure to drink slowly even though Sebastian kept coming up with a lot of toasts. Beer toasts… it was ridiculous…

The real reason of his visit was constantly at the back of Mattia’s head. Telling Sebastian about their alleged romance while being slightly intoxicated didn’t feel like a good idea.

The problem was that they were getting drunker. And the match was coming to an end.

“Pee emergency!” Tripping over his own feet, Sebastian staggered to the bathroom.

Mattia let out a heavy sigh. One more bottle and the boy will be sleeping like a child… Well, not exactly. He will just pass out with alcohol poisoning and he’ll be sick after he wakes up. There were still four full bottles under the table, some of them were Mattia’s, because he kept drinking the same bottle for the last hour. Sebastian hadn’t noticed.

Mattia rolled up his sleeves and pushed the bottles deeper under the table to keep them out of sight. After walking up to the window, he opened it and let the night air touch his sweaty forehead.

Apparently, Sebastian didn’t use air conditioning because it was destroying the environment, or something like that…

The room felt like a furnace, Mattia wished he could take his socks off. Sober Mattia would never do something like that, but he wasn’t sober. The sun has already set, and it looked like the host was saving energy as well, because the brightest light source in the room was the TV. Mattia concluded that Sebastian was too drunk to notice anything. He took his socks off, put them into his pockets and went back to the couch.

He felt better almost instantaneously. Finally, he could gather his thoughts and make some decision.

_I’m not going to tell him anything. Not tonight. Not when he’s drunk._

The bathroom door opened.

“I peed out three bottles…” Sebastian confessed. “I might have made a mess around the toilet… Don’t be surprised… I’ll clean it up before Hanna gets here. She has enough cleaning after the kids…” His steps unsteady, he returned to the couch and landed heavily next to Mattia. “_Padron_…” he hiccoughed.

“You’ve had enough beer for tonight, Sebastian.”

“Say it in French…” Sebastian pulled his feet on the couch and turned to Mattia. “_Je ne… je ne suis pas_… I can speak French I swear…”

“Maybe you should eat something.” Mattia shifted away, feeling Sebastian’s stare on his face. It was a strong stare for a drunk.

“Sorry for making this evening so boring…”

“It’s not that bad.”

“You don’t look entertained.” Sebastian’s eyes moved from Mattia’s face up. “Can I touch your hair?”

An alarm sounded inside Mattia’s scull. Repeatedly, louder and louder. His better judgement was trying to wake him up, while his body was leading a rebellion.

“What for?”

“I just want to check something.”

_Say „no” you idiot! Is it really that hard? Why are you even hesitating? Don’t you have enough problems? What is wrong with you?_

“I won’t do anything stupid; I swear.”

Mattia felt heat spreading all over his body as if he’d consumed something much stronger than beer. But it wasn’t alcohol. It was the anticipation of pleasure that he always felt when someone was touching his hair. Best case scenario, if it was his wife. But visiting the hairdresser wasn’t bad either. He never felt guilty about it.

“All right then.” He turned his face away from Sebastian, just to be sure the German can’t see his face. Especially his eyes.

He knew the touch would be pleasant because his head was hypersensitive, but… he didn’t expect it to be paralyzingly intense.

Sebastian’s fingers sunk into his dark curls, the boy’s fingertips brushing his scalp. “Unbelievable…” Sebastian whispered, repeating the movement again.

Mattia squeezed his eyelids shut. _Get a hold on yourself, old fool! You have a wife who’s taking care of you!_

“I’m impressed,” Sebastian’s fingers raked through Mattia's hair again, showering him with a cascade of shivers. “I could swear you use hairspray.”

Sebastian moved away, leaving Mattia stunned and shocked by his own reactions.

“I was always curious about that…” the German checked under the table. “Where’s my beer? Ah, there it is.”

Mattia grabbed a pillow and pressed it to his crotch. _You idiot… Why would you get turned on like this?_

Only then he realized that Sebastian was drinking again.

“What did I tell you? You’re going to get sick. What will Hanna think when she sees you? She’ll blame me.” Mattia yanked the bottle out of Sebastian’s hand.

“You can’t do that…” The German waved his hand in the air, accidentally slapping Mattia in the face and knocking the expensive glasses off his head.

Mattia cursed in his mind. He needed his glasses to drive back home.

“I’m sorry…” Sebastian darted to pick them up from the floor but tripped over Mattia’s legs.

All Mattia could remember was that Sebastian’s head was on a collision course with the edge of the table. He reacted instinctively, grabbing Sebastian by his arms and pulling him in the opposite direction.

Sebastian was drunk and it was difficult to judge what he was trying to do, but they wrestled for a moment and it the result Mattia also lost his balance and they both landed on the couch.

Mattia grimaced, feeling Sebastian’s weight on his hips.

“I broke your glasses…” The German sounded like he was about to cry. “I’m so sorry…”

Mattia’s thoughts were flashing, accelerating and disappearing like falling stars… _If Nicolas could see us now…_ He needed to untangle himself from this unpleasant position as fast as possible.

Actually… It wasn’t unpleasant…

“Wait… don’t move!” Sebastian moaned, burying his face into Mattia’s shirt.

Mattia waited, getting more and more anxious. Sebastian could probably hear his heartbeat. Not only hear, but also feel.

_I should’ve left the moment he told me Hanna and the kids are not home._

“Okay. It passed. For a moment I was sure I would puke…”

Mattia glanced at the German to make sure he heard right.

_Nothing inappropriate happened_, he though_. Sebastian didn’t notice anything. He’s not to blame. And if I only manage to keep my biological reactions in check, everything will be fine._

The German shifted in his arms. His face moved disturbingly close to Mattia’s face.

“Nice to have a boss who doesn’t smell like cigarettes.”

Mattia stopped breathing.

“You smell like an expensive shampoo…” Sebastian whispered before pressing his lips to Mattia's. Soft, delicate, careful lips…

Chaos erupted in Mattia's head. He had to make a choice. Right now. A choice that could change everything…

But only one choice was the right one. And so far, making it was the toughest thing in his life.

“No…” he whispered, leaning away. “This isn’t right.”

No sudden movements, no raised voices, no resentment, no judgement… Mattia remained calm.

Sebastian looked him in the eye. Mattia held on to his gaze.

“I wanted to get you drunk…” Sebastian confessed, his voice breaking with emotion. “But now I’m drunk myself and… ashamed…”

Mattia felt warmth coming to his heart, a different kind of heat, the kind that he could tolerate. “Why did you want to get me drunk?” he asked, changing his body position so that Sebastian was resting next to him and not on him, but keeping the German in his arms.

“Because I’m scared.” A tear rolled down Sebastian’s cheek.

Mattia embraced him tightly. “Scared of what?”

“It often feels like you are the last person at Ferrari who cares about me. Well, maybe apart from some of my mechanics and engineers. But you’re the only person who has any influence on the future…”

Mattia felt pain in his chest as if some monster was trying to claw his heart out.

What was he supposed to say? You’re wrong? Everyone at Ferrari loves you?

“Tell me the truth,” Sebastian grabbed him by the chin. “Look me in the eye and tell me that you’re preparing a good contract for me.”

Mattia blinked. He wished someone ripped his heart out now. Maybe then it wouldn’t hurt that much. ‘We’re preparing a good contract for you,” he lied with calmness that, for the first time, felt like a curse.

“Swear to me… swear on your hair. If you’re lying, you will have to shave your head.”

Mattia opened his mouth, hesitant. _I already lied to him many times… He’ll know that I’m a liar and a traitor, so what difference does it make if I don’t keep my word again?_

“No, no, no… don’t say anything, I take it back.” Sebastian kissed him lightly on the cheek and snuggled in his arms. “It would be a real shame if something happened to your hair… I’m sorry for being so pathetic…”

“It’s okay,” Mattia whispered, swallowing down tears. “Everything will be all right.”


	6. Dangerous games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattia has a plan to outsmart the board. But will he succeed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left. I hope you will like this one. Thank you immensely for all your comments and feedback. I feel blessed with so many amazing readers. :)))

Mattia opened his eyes. He was lying on a couch, in a big room. He was uncomfortable, the belt buckle digging into his stomach.

He sat up slowly, trying to localize his glasses; they were lying on a coffee table next to him.

Memories came back at once. The football game, the beers, the toasts, the hair touching, the drunk grappling with Sebastian and his velvety lips…

Mattia felt embarrassed and confused, but then a deep sadness swallowed him, making it difficult to inhale. He put the glasses on; luckily, they were intact. Sebastian must have picked them up from the floor and put them on the table, and covered Mattia with a blanket.

The German was not in the room and Mattia figured that the host was sleeping in his own bed.

Mattia moved the blanket aside and stood up. His suit trousers and shirt were unaesthetically wrinkled. He run his fingers through his hair, hoping it didn’t look as bad as his clothes.

He remembered the promise he’d made to Sebastian. _There’s a good contract waiting for you at Maranello._

No matter how little Sebastian remembered from their conversation, Mattia felt reprehensible and the idea of looking him in the eye was too much to bear.

He remembered what Sebastian had said about Hanna and the kids; they could show up at the villa at any moment. Mattia didn’t feel like talking to Hanna… or anyone else.

He put the suit jacket on and headed to the hall where he’d left his shoes. As he was walking, he checked his phone. It was only 7 am. Sebastian was probably still sleeping. Mattia put his shoes on and left the house.

Only after he got into his Ferrari, he noticed that his socks were still in his pockets. He fixed that small detail and pulled away.

An hour later Sebastian called him on the phone. “I didn’t know you were going to leave so early.”

“Early? I didn’t plan to stay for the night.”

“I’m sorry I got drunk. It doesn’t happen too often. I regret not postponing your visit. We would have had much more fun with Hanna and the kids.” Sebastian was acting as if nothing happened, but it would be naive to believe that he had no recollection of anything at all.

“There will be another occasion. Say hi to Hanna from me and kiss your little ones.”

“I will. Thank you. Have a nice day.”

The same day, in the afternoon, Mattia received a message with a photo of Sebastian’s children playing with the new plush toys. It said: thank you, uncle Mattia.

Mattia smiled to himself, but the smile faded away quickly.

_I’m holding your dad’s happiness in my hands, _he thought._ I’m holding it like my own life depended on it, but… reality is shredding my body into pieces and I’m not sure if I can hold on for much longer…_

* * *

**Belgian GP 2020, Sunday, post-race**

Mattia stared at the championship standings table. On the other side of the wall he could hear his team celebrating another 1-2. They only had one day to drink and have fun, because the race in Monza was next week.

Sebastian won in Spa, defending from his teammate who couldn’t hide his frustration after the race. Nicolas had a murderous expression on his face but chose not to approach the team principal.

Sebastian was starting from pole and lead the race from the start to the finish, so Charles didn’t really have any possibility to get ahead. Especially after the slow pit stop; Mattia was sure that it looked like another sabotage, at least to Nicolas.

He had not time to worry about the young Todt. He needed to prepare himself for the weekend in Monza.

His plan could still come to flourish. He only needed Sebastian to win the race and Lewis to have a lot of bad luck and not make more than two points.

Was is possible? Unlikely, but he wasn’t giving up.

Sebastian needed a good race weekend. And he also needed help from the teammate who last year refused to give it to him…

* * *

**Italian GP 2020, Friday afternoon, Ferrari team briefing**

“What did you say?” Mattia asked, everyone staring at Charles who seemed uncomfortable but still held his head high.

“I said no. I’m not giving Sebastian the tow in Q3. I know there was some confusion last year and Seb didn’t get it, but I won the race and you said I was forgiven. I think it’s my turn.”

“But… you didn’t give me the tow,” Sebastian argued. “You can only blame yourself. If you did as told last year, then it actually would be your turn.”

Charles shook his head. “You should talk to my manager. That race was very difficult. I thought we were even.”

Mattia cursed in his mind. He needed Sebastian to win and for some reason Nicolas decided to choose this particular weekend to flex on him…

Mattia was losing patience. In his whole career nobody has gotten under his skin as much as the young Todt. Mattia wasn’t a violent man, but even the mere thought of Nicolas was winding him up and he was finding it difficult to unwind.

“You’re not being fair, Charles. And you know it,” he said to his young driver.

Charles crossed his arms. “Talk to my manager.”

“Looks like I have no other choice.”

* * *

Nicolas wanted to meet in a private; Mattia considered it a good idea. If he was going to snap, he wouldn’t have any witnesses.

They met in Mattia’s hotel room.

Nicolas entered, wearing a smug expression on his face. He had no reasons to smile at Mattia and yet that’s what he was doing, as he sat down on a leather sofa and opened a black briefcase. “Give your legs some rest.”

Mattia settled himself in an armchair opposite to the sofa.

“Charles will get the tow this year,” Nicolas said, placing a large envelope on the table between him and Mattia. “And not just that. You will finally start treating him the way he deserves and the way you were ordered. As a number one driver. It’s not going to be difficult. All you have to do is to make sure Sebastian’s not in his way and is not allowed to race him.”

Mattia glanced at the envelope. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

Nicolas smiled grimly. “I’d use a different word.”

Mattia fixed him with a glare before reaching for the envelope. There was a photograph inside. No, two photographs.

Mattia felt the ground moving under his feet… On the photo, there he was sitting in his car parked next to Sebastian’s villa and putting his socks on… The second photo was a long lens shot of Mattia looking out the window and enjoying the cool evening air… The room seemed dark and Mattia wasn’t sure how much the paparazzi could’ve seen. He was desperately trying to remember the positioning of the windows in relation to the TV and the couch…

His heart was pounding.

_What would Maurizio do? How would he deal with this snake to take care of him once and for all? I need to find a way… I can’t agree with his demands… Not when Sebastian’s future depends on it…_

Mattia grabbed the photos into his hands and started tearing them into pieces.

Nicolas sat back in the sofa. “Don’t bother. I have many copies.”

“How about the copies of your… teeth!?” Mattia only needed two steps to get to Nicolas and to grab him by his clothes. He lifted him up, pressed him to the wall and punched him in the face.

The young Todt screamed, trying to defend himself, but Mattia overpowered him with sheer size.

“You fucking rat…” he lashed out, strengthening the grip on Nicolas’ clothes as the small man kept tussling. “I tried to ignore you because I thought you were just doing your job, but now I’m done. I’m a gentle person and look what you’ve turned me into!”

Blood started dripping down Nicolas’ nose, making Mattia grimace.

“I can see that you’ve dedicated yourself to ruining Sebastian’s career, you… asshole! Feeling so strong and invincible, aren’t you? We’ll see how strong you are next year, because I swear, I'll invite Joss to every team meeting. You think he will be as patient and tolerant as me? Keep playing your games and we'll find out.”

Nicolas started shaking. “What… what are you talking about?”

Mattia relaxed his hands, letting the young Todt drop to the floor. Before Nicolas picked himself up, a revelation came.

“You didn’t know…” Mattia was so surprised he had to sit down.

Nicolas pressed a hand to his bloody nose. “Can you get me a tissue?” Blood was now dripping down his sweater onto the carpet.

Mattia went for a piece of toilet paper and handed it to Nicolas. The young Todt looked miserable and even though Mattia still hated his guts, he felt sorry for him.

Todt lied down on the sofa and lifted his chin to stop the bleeding. “They are signing Max?!" he lamented. "Are you sure? They lost their minds! It’s never going to work. Max has no respect for anyone. He’s not going to listen to you… It’s going to lead to a disaster!”

Mattia sat down in the armchair and sighed heavily. “All the time I was convinced that you were helping their plan to ruin Sebastian’s season… You know, to make him look like a lost cause and justify the driver change.”

Nicolas moved the toilet paper away from his nose, but quickly pressed it back. “All I knew is that they gave you an instruction to treat Charles as a number one driver. Obviously, you weren’t doing that, so I tried to pressure you. I had no idea Sebastian’s future at Ferrari is on the line. If I had known…” A grimace of fear appeared on Nicolas’ face. “I had dealings with Joss in the past and I would prefer not to go through that again. That man is dangerous.”

Mattia shrugged his shoulders. “From my point of view, it would be an ideal situation. You would keep each other busy and I would lead the team in peace.”

“How can you say that! I got punched by Joss once and… let's just say, he didn’t bring me toilet paper afterwards…”

“I didn’t want to punch you. I’m sorry, but my patience has its limits.”

“Well… at least now I know that I’ve been fighting the wrong fight…” Nicolas looked at Mattia with concern. “Is this contract a done deal? Can we still do something about it?”

Mattia sighed. “Sebastian needs to win this race and Lewis can’t score more than two points.”

Nicolas moaned.

“Exactly…”

“What a fucking disaster…” Nicolas sat up carefully. “I need to think… Could you get me something stronger to drink?”

Mattia picked himself up and went to get a small bottle of vodka from a mini bar.

“Can you open it for me? My nose is still bleeding…”

Mattia opened the bottle and handed it to Nicolas who took a long sip. “I could talk to my dad. He can pull some strings, but… fixing race results is a dangerous game. And doing it from the inside of Mercedes garage, if you’d like to cause a DNF, it’s even riskier. Borderline impossible.”

“You talk like someone familiar with the job…” Mattia snorted. “I hope you didn’t try anything like that so far. I wouldn’t want my team to be implicated in your… games.”

“Do you want Lewis to finish the race or not?”

Mattia narrowed his eyes. _Does he really have so much power? _“Could you do it?”

“Not on my own, but my dad wouldn’t say no. He helped me a couple times already, in small matters. For example, when I was representing Kvyat.”

Mattia scratched his nose. “That would require some serious levels of caution, knowledge and experience… Before I make any decision, I need to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

After letting out an annoyed sigh, Nicolas told Mattia about a couple of situations in which he took advantage of the fact that his dad was the President of the FIA.

Mattia felt an utter disgust listening to these words. Yes, he was in a very uncomfortable position, but asking someone as slimy as Nicolas for help felt beneath his dignity.

“Okay, I get the picture, but I also agree that sabotaging Mercedes is too risky. And… also unsportsmanlike. I’m trying to be a decent man and I respect my job. So… I can't use your help.”

Nicolas muttered something under his breath which sounded like: "...do it myself".

“Unless…” Mattia fixed his glasses. “You could do something to pressure the board and buy me some time. If I win this season for them, maybe they’ll agree to give Sebastian an extension.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Tell them that you can persuade the FIA to turn a blind eye on Ferrari, in case we’re in trouble next year. But don’t ask your dad for any favours. We won’t be doing anything for real. The board won’t see through our bluff before the season’s over.” Mattia felt cold shivers on his skin. _Am I really doing that?_

Nicolas chugged the rest of the vodka, throwing the red stained ball of toilet paper on the table. “Listen, they have my clients’ future in their hands. I don’t want to get in their bad books.”

“They want to sign Max, even though they know what it will lead to. Sebastian is a better teammate for Charles than Max. I’m sure you’ll agree with that.”

Nicolas stood up. “I know, but I would prefer to stay in the shadow, and you want me to lie to them directly. I need to think it over. If I really have to deal with Joss next year… You know what? I better start gathering sensible information on some board members, just in case I need to ‘persuade’ them to be nice to Charles… Nothing to do with you, I understand that all you wanted is to bluff. But I need to secure my own future. Will you clean that up?” he asked, pointing at the stains on the carpet.

“Yes. Better take that sweater off if you don’t want any questions.”

Nicolas took the blood-stained sweater off and shoved it into the briefcase.

“One more thing,” Mattia stopped him as they were walking to the door. “Sebastian’s going to get the tow in Q3, just as I planned.”

Nicolas looked him in the eye, and for the first time Mattia saw some human emotion in him. “I know it would be perfect if Charles agreed to play the second fiddle to Seb and helped him maximize the points, but… I would have to ask him to do it and he would probably fire me. I can’t tell him the truth either. He’s not going to understand. He’s not afraid of Max. And he has no idea what Joss is capable of… I’ll tell him that we’ve made a deal that will benefit him in the long run. He’ll obey your orders as long as you will treat both your drivers equally. That’s all I can do, I’m sorry.”

Mattia nodded. “That’s all I need for now.”

Once the young Todt left, Mattia locked the door and went to the bathroom. Even after a long, hot shower, he was still feeling dirty.

* * *

**Italian GP 2020, Sunday**

“Sebastian Vettel wins the Italian Grand Prix!” Crofty was screaming through the speakers near the pit straight. The crowd was going wild.

Mattia turned to Ted, who was waiting for the first interview.

“Two wins in a row! What are you waiting for? Where’s Sebastian’s contract?”

“I don’t lead these negotiations.”

“But the crowds love him! Can’t you hear them sing? Sebastian, _uno di noi_! Is that how it’s going? I assume you’re still negotiating a number or is he asking for, I don’t know, a certain status?”

“I can’t share any details. We should probably focus on this moment. It was an amazing victory. The point distance between Sebastian and Lewis shrunk significantly. And most of all… we managed to finally catch up with Mercedes.”

“Yes! It’s incredible. Both teams have 455 points. Sebastian is one point ahead of Charles now, with Lewis leading by 15 points. Looks like not only your team but also both of your drivers are still in the fight. Doesn’t it put you in a difficult position?”

“I think it’s a privileged position. Our drivers are free to race, and I believe that’s the right approach. It helped us make up the point loss to Mercedes.”

“Well…Perhaps, with a different approach you would’ve already been ahead…”

“Let’s wait until the end of the season, Ted, before you make the final judgement.”

* * *

**A day later, Maranello**

Mattia threw a quick glance on the seven flags decorating the entrance to Gestione Sportiva. Seven wins in fifteen races. Same number Mercedes had achieved so far this season.

In Maranello people were still celebrating. The board members had a festive breakfast together, but Mattia wasn’t invited.

He didn’t mind. His stomach was acting out again, he barely forced himself into eating a croissant.

His mind was working overtime. The cards he was holding in his hands… Were they strong enough to turn the game in his favour? He was never a good poker player, despite his legendary calmness… His calmness was more related to thoughtfulness and agreeableness. Not to cunning and manipulation.

He stopped by his office, just to look at the photos of his wife and children. His family members had no idea of the pressures he was subjected to.

He still felt remorse after talking to Nicolas. Even lying to Sebastian didn’t seem as repulsive. Probably because it was motivated by the fact that he cared about Sebastian. Meanwhile scheming with Nicolas was a desperate, suicidal move and even though Mattia never agreed to anything, he knew that Nicolas was probably already working on his own initiative.

_Should I warn the board before something bad happens? Or should I stick to my own plan and let the game play itself out?_

When he entered Camilleri’s office, Elkann was just opening a bottle of Chandon.

“Mattia! Good to see you! We’re about to have a toast. To many more victories!” Camilleri approached Mattia and handed him a glass. “You’ve done a great job. Keep working like that and maybe the Mercedes’ dominance will finally get shattered.”

Mattia counted all eight members of the board in the room, which was a rare sight. He wasn’t sure if he needed such a huge audience. On the other hand, only Elkann and Camilleri had consecutive power, so he didn’t need to worry about the rest.

The atmosphere seemed unofficial and Mattia was happy to join Piero Ferrari’s toast. His stomach protested to the bubbly liquid, but Mattia emptied the glass anyway.

Everyone wanted to shake his hand and congratulate. Equalling Mercedes in points so late in the season was a big achievement. Ferrari had dominated the European part of the season and it didn’t look as if Mercedes had any answers. Mattia started to feel hope again.

He could feel the excitement in the air. The tide seemed to be turning in his favour.

“I’m glad I could catch you all together.” Mattia stopped in the middle of the room so that everyone could see him, which wasn’t difficult with his posture. “We’re not leading the classification, but we’re close. So close that… I’d say that everything is going according to my plan. The plan that I presented to you last year when you chose me to be the leader of Scuderia Ferrari. I know our visions are not perfectly in line, but… I believe that I deserve your trust. And Sebastian as well. I’m convinced that by winning this season for us, he’ll earn his new contract.” Mattia’s eyes kept darting from one face to the other. Everyone was avoiding his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Mattia, but the fact is that Sebastian’s not leading the championship today. Which means that you’ve failed to meet our requirements,” Camilleri said.

“He’s only fifteen points behind…”

“That’s not what we agreed on and you know it. You had fifteen races to get these fifteen points. We gave you a chance, but you’ve failed to capitalize on it. And now you come here to ask for another chance? What if you blow this one too?”

Mattia opened his mouth, but Elkann talked first.

“Our negotiations with Max are getting into the final phase and we’re intending to finalize them by the end of the week. Give it a rest already, Mattia. You’re starting to look like a lunatic…”

Mattia chewed on his lip, the atmosphere in the room changed dramatically. He wasn’t a hero anymore. “You’re disrespecting me,” he said, with a light trembling in his voice. “And I’m done being treated this way. So, let me set my own conditions now.”

Camilleri pouted, crossing his arms on his chest. The non-executive board members looked as if they wished to be somewhere else.

“If you don’t sign a new contract with Sebastian, you will have to look for a new team principal.”

There. He said it. He put one card on the table, feeling its burden. The card his career and the future of his family depended on…

Elkann snorted. “You’re not going to resign.”

Mattia glowered at him. “We’ll see about that. Good luck finding someone ready to fill my shoes.”

Elkann rolled his eyes. “You really want us to believe that you will quit the team you love so much and hurt your reputation because you don’t want to split with Vettel? Are you in love with him or what?”

Mattia felt warmth coming to his cheeks. “You’re not giving me any choice…”

Elkann seemed amused; Camilleri rather angry.

“Can you hear yourself?!” he said in French. “Since the beginning of this season you keep questioning our decisions. You really think you are irreplaceable? You’re wrong. I’ve had enough of your insubordination. Get back in line and start doing your job or we’ll meet in court!”

Mattia clenched his teeth. The card he played turned out weak, but he had another one.

“You’ll get my resignation by the end of this week.”

Elkann shook his head. “For fuck’s sake, Mattia…”

“Actually, it’ll be on your desk tomorrow morning. There are a couple of things that the new team principal would want to know at the start… for example, I was forced to implement some old school security measures and… I've hidden all the blueprints and all the project files for 2021 in a safe place.”

Camilleri was now shaking his head as well. Neither he nor Elkann didn’t seem shocked or even surprised.

_I guess they are familiar with this kind of ‘persuasion’ tactics_, Mattia thought. He was trying it for the first time, and he was scared as hell.

If the board won’t yield, he was probably going to meet them in court. They would ruin his reputation. Nobody would hire him afterwards. Nobody would trust him.

And his family? What would they think? How would they interpret the events? Maybe they would also start wondering whether something improper was going on between him and Sebastian?

“The files are safe, but it’s possible that… some numbers have been mixed up by accident. It will be a long process, but I’d advise you to correct them before you apply for homologation because… otherwise it would be a waste of time.”

Mattia wasn’t sure if he was a genius or an idiot.

The sound of Elkann’s laughter threw him off balance.

Camilleri propped his head with his hand, letting out a long sigh. “You’re breaking my heart, Mattia. I’m serious… I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”

Elkann laughed again, like a movie villain. “You’re a smart man, Mattia. But did you really think you can blackmail us? Did you think it’s that easy to delete confidential files without anyone noticing? You think we have no back up servers where we keep our most sensitive data? There are so many more important things going on in Maranello than just your racing team.”

Mattia looked at his feet, the weight of failure crushing him down, he was barely standing.

_I’m an idiot. That’s clear now. But at least I tried._

_Oh, Sebastian, I’m so sorry for letting you down… Will you ever forgive me?_

“We still respect you, Mattia. We cherish your hard work this season and we hope that you’ll keep it up. For that reason, let’s pretend that this conversation never happened. Carry on with the plan. Our plan.”

Yes, only their plan was left now. Mattia had no cards to play.

Actually, he had one.

Nicolas.


	7. Bigger than us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max is supposed to be signed as a Ferrari driver by the end of the week. Mattia's running out of time, but then something unexpected happens.

**Somewhere in Italy, Maurizio’s man cave**

“It was not one of my proudest moments.”

“Why not? I’m proud of you!”

“It was like hitting a child. It didn’t feel right.”

Maurizio waved his hand, grimacing. “He was asking for it.”

Mattia sipped a bit of water. After what happened in Sebastian’s villa, he decided not to touch alcohol at least until the end of the season. “I’ve hit a dead end…” he said, propping his head on an elbow.

Maurizio opened a bottom drawer in his desk.

Mattia quickly took a couple of deep breaths while the air was still fresh, but to his surprise the ex-Ferrari boss didn’t pick up a pack of cigarettes. Instead, he opened a pack of gum and threw one into his mouth.

“You should get the fuck out of there just as you told them,” he commented. “It’s going to be your final revenge. Winning the title and then waving goodbye.”

Mattia shook his head. “My job at Ferrari is not in danger, Sebastian’s is.”

Maurizio chewed the gum in silence. His face was sour as if he hated the mint.

“By the way, thank you for believing in me,” Mattia added.

Maurizio grabbed a stress ball from the desk and started squeezing it. “I made a bet with my wife that I won't smoke a single cigarette until you win this season.”

“That’s… brave.”

“Well, I had a serious coughing fit during the last race and nearly ended up in the ER, so… I needed a break.”

“What if we don’t win? Will you stay off cigarettes permanently?”

“Don’t even mention that! You will win, I believe in you!”

Mattia smiled. “Now I understand.”

They sat in silence, sipping from their glasses, two Ferrari bosses who to the outside world probably seemed to be foes, but to Mattia Maurizio was the only person who could fully understand his situation. Not just because Mattia was sharing all his secrets with him, but also because Maurizio knew what it's like to be a Ferrari team principal.

“Nicolas is my last resort. I feel sick even thinking about him, but there might still be a way to save Sebastian’s future,” Mattia said. He was desperate to get an absolution from Maurizio, if he was going to proceed.

“Don’t do that,” Maurizio'a expression hardened into a strong disapproval. “That’s not who you are. You’re going to regret it for the rest of your life.”

_Here’s your absolution… _Mattia felt lonely and dejected. “I wish you could understand…”

“I do understand and I’m sorry for Sebastian, but there are doors that only lead to bad places and you will never be able to go back.” Maurizio frowned heavily, his eyes glistening as if he was tearing up. “I feel for you, Mattia. And I’m very sorry about Sebastian’s situation. But if you do something dishonourable to secure his contract and he will find out about it… I think he’ll lose all his respect for you. Is that what you want?”

Mattia chewed on his lip. “No… of course not. But… I can’t give up on him.” He couldn’t believe he was crying in Maurizio’s presence. But feeling vulnerable and embarrassed was low on his list of worries. Besides, Maurizio was his friend. “This season’s going so well, and yet… I feel like the ultimate loser.”

“I think you're underestimating Sebastian’s resilience. Maybe he’ll end up in Mercedes next year, who knows?”

Mattia knew Maurizio was only trying to cheer him up, but it didn’t work.

* * *

**A day later**

“Are you still in Italy?”

“Yes.”

“Have you made any… useful discoveries so far?”

“Depends. What do you need?”

“I would prefer discussing the details face to face. And it’s urgent.”

“I’ll be in your favourite restaurant at 6 pm.”

Of course, Nicolas knew which was Mattia’s favourite restaurant in Maranello.

“Sounds good.”

_Feels bad._

* * *

Mattia stayed in his office, staring at the laptop screen, trying to read, but catching himself on going through whole paragraphs without registering their content.

_Is this it? Am I about to betray my principles?_

The fact that Maurizio condemned his actions left a permanent mark on him. He was trying to find a consolation in the idea that the nature of his job required double-dealings and deceit. But there was a line between trickery and evil; the line he was about to cross.

He kept looking out the glass wall every time someone showed up in the corridor, dreading that it would be Joss or Max. _No time to dwell on things._ If what Elkann said was true, Max's contract was probably already printed out, waiting for the binding signatures.

Mattia checked his watch. It was about time to leave, he needed to get to the restaurant early to pick a good table, secluded and private.

He put his laptop into a bag and was just about to leave when his phone started ringing. Mattia checked the screen, it was Nicolas.

_Please, don’t cancel on me_, Mattia prayed in his mind. He was running out of time.

"Yes?"

“Did you check the news? Check your Twitter!”

Mattia’s heart stopped beating. _It’s too late, isn’t it?_

His fingers started to tremble so violently, he accidentally ended the call.

He pressed the Twitter icon, feeling light-headed… He immediately found the right headline: Max Verstappen staying at Red Bull with a record $30 M deal.

Mattia stared at the phone. _What the fuck…_ He couldn’t comprehend. It took him a while to figure out what happened, but once he did, he put the phone down and started laughing.

* * *

“He used them! He was just trying to squeeze more money out of Red Bull,” Maurizio was speaking so loudly his voice was distorted on the phone.

“Now I get what Christian was trying to tell me,” Mattia said. “Nicolas wasn’t the snake; it was Joss. But I’m still surprised that Max decided to stay at Red Bull with their current form.”

“I bet the board wasn’t going to grant him a number one status against Charles. 30 million dollars would be a huge salary for a guy with no titles as well,” Maurizio started making weird sounds and Mattia wasn’t sure if he’s laughing or coughing. “Can you imagine Camilleri’s face right now! They got played so badly. I can’t stop laughing!”

It was a laughter then.

“I’m so relieved, you can’t even…”

“Yes, I can! Have you talked to Nicolas?”

“We had a meeting scheduled, but I obviously cancelled it.”

“Thank God, you dumb son of a bitch!”

Mattia wished he was in Maurizio’s room right now, he so wanted to hug him.

“I just got a message from Camilleri. He wants to meet me tomorrow morning.”

“Hah! Have fun! And don’t forget to call me afterwards.”

* * *

Mattia was not a person who liked to brag, but he couldn’t hide a smug smile after entering Camilleri's office.

“We won’t waste too much of your time," the Ferrari CEO said.

Elkann was there too, staring out the window, not even bothering to turn around. Mattia understood why. They were embarrassed. Joss and Max made them look like fools.

“Since you’ve been so protective of Sebastian this year, giving us a major headache because of that,” Camilleri approached him and handed him a folder with a Ferrari logo, “we would like you to personally deliver this to him. It’s our contract proposal. Already signed from our side.”

Mattia took the folder, his heart making leaps of joy in his chest. Such a relief, so much happiness…

“I’ll deliver it to him with a great pleasure.”

“We don’t doubt that.”

* * *

**Saturday afternoon, Switzerland, Ellighausen**

The Swiss landscape never looked more beautiful. Mattia drove to Sebastian’s farmhouse, all the way smiling like an idiot.

When he called Sebastian to ask if he could pay him a visit, the German sounded thrilled even though Mattia didn’t mention the contract. But Sebastian had to suspect something. Especially since Mattia called him when the news about Max staying at Red Bull were still fresh.

Mattia had never been in Sebastian’s Swiss house before. It looked vintage and cosy. The grass was freshly mowed.

Sebastian’s dog welcomed him as soon as he got out of his car.

“Oh, hello. I don’t think we met…”

“Usually he’s a bit reserved when it comes to tall men.” Sebastian gently dragged the dog away from Mattia. “But he can recognise a good car… Emily, could you take him inside, please?”

Sebastian’s older daughter ran out of the house. She had the same cute nose as her dad.

“Hello,” Mattia grasped her small hand.

The girl smiled shyly and with a couple of whispers and secret gestures persuaded the dog to follow her.

“So nice to see you.” Sebastian looked sparky.

Mattia pulled him into his arms and squeezed, taking a deep breath in. Finally, he could breathe again!

“You’re crushing me, boss.”

“Oh… sorry.”

Hanna was waiting at them by the door, holding the smallest Vettel on her arm.

“How are you?” Mattia had to bend down to give her a light kiss on the cheek. The little one stared at him with his huge eyes.

“What a cute little thing…”

“Yes, she is, but have you seen my son?” Sebastian joked.

Hanna rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Mattia was just talking about him.”

Sebastian burst out laughing, the sound of it making Mattia’s heart flutter with joy.

“The dinner’s not ready yet.”

“That’s fine. I wanted to talk to Sebastian first.”

Sebastian nodded before turning to his wife. “We’ll be in the trophy room.”

* * *

The trophy room was exactly what its name suggested. Sebastian was collecting there all his trophies, helmets and racing memorabilia. The walls were decorated with heart-warming drawings from his youngest fans.

There was a black leather couch by the wall and a table made of a Pirelli tyre next to it. A large TV was placed by the opposite wall.

“Is this where your family follows your races?” Mattia asked, sitting down on the couch.

“Only my dad and my brother if they’re here. Hanna doesn’t watch races and the children are too small to understand what’s going on anyway,” Sebastian explained. “But we watch a lot of football here.”

A memory of the football match they watched together flashed through Mattia’s head. It was such a dreadful day. He thought he lost his mind. He never lost hope, but at some point it just felt like a fool's hope. Not virtuous but stupid.

“I have something for you.” Mattia pulled the folder out of his bag and handed it to Sebastian.

“Is this…” Sebastian kept staring him in the eye, his cheeks and ears getting red with excitement. “The contract?”

Mattia nodded. In a split second the boy was in his arms.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” All choked up, Sebastian buried his face in Mattia’s shoulder.

Mattia wrapped an arm around Sebastian’s torso. Putting a hand at the back of his neck, he pulled his head closer and kissed his thinning hair.

_It wasn’t me… We got lucky…_

Sebastian shifted away, his focus on the folder. He took the documents out and grabbed a pen that was conveniently lying on the table next to a crossword book. “I’m not even going to read it!”

“No, wait!” Mattia grabbed him by the wrist.

Sebastian looked at him, curious. There was so much trust in his eyes, Mattia didn’t hesitate.

“There’s something you should know first.”

Sebastian left the documents on the table and pulled his legs onto the couch, getting comfortable. Ready to listen.

Mattia inhaled. “I don’t even know where to begin…”

“Camilleri was negotiating with Max. I figured that out by myself.”

Mattia nodded. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Start from the beginning.”

Mattia felt heat coming to his cheeks, but he wasn’t going to back down. Sebastian deserved to know the truth.

“It started before the winter testing, when the board informed me about their decision to sign Max. I was ordered to focus on Charles and leave you on your own, in case you would struggle, because they wanted you to appear weak.”

Mattia could see the change in Sebastian’s expression. The realisation of betrayal filled his eyes with hurt.

“You didn’t listen,” he said, his voice rougher than before.

Mattia looked down. “I couldn’t… My plan was clear from the day I started working as a team principal and I wasn’t going to change it.” Mattia kept glancing at the boy. His eyes were studying him with such intensity it felt like his soul was being x-rayed. “Nicolas Todt was making my life difficult, because he knew that Charles was supposed to be Ferrari's number one this year.”

“Yeah, he was being a real jerk. Making a lot of inappropriate comments.”

Mattia pressed his lips tightly together. He had to tell the whole truth, no matter how embarrassing it felt. “He was actually accusing me of having…” he sighed heavily, hearing a tense note in his own voice. “Having inappropriate relations with you.”

Sebastian’s frown deepened. “Oh…”

“I managed to ignore him,” Mattia continued, desperate to change the topic. “Although he was a real pain in the ass. He even managed to get some paparazzi shots from my visit to your villa. He wanted to blackmail me… but he only had a photo of me in the car and looking out the window. It was irrelevant anyway, because it turned out that he didn’t even know about Max. Looks like he’s terrified of Joss. So when I told him about everything, suddenly, he was ready to help.”

Sebastian frowned. “How? He doesn’t have the best reputation.”

Mattia puffed out his cheeks. “Tell me about it! I was feeling really desperate… I was told that the board will reconsider contract negotiations if you’re leading the classification after Monza. It was very close, and I was certain that they will give you a shot. Especially since we are on par with Mercedes in the Constructors'. But… they still wanted Max. I tried everything to make them change their minds. I was actually going to resign…”

Sebastian looked at him with shock. “What?”

“I know it sounds crazy… And they didn’t want to accept my resignation. But I felt disrespected. They told me that the contract will be signed by the end of this week. Nicolas was my only chance to stop that from happening. I was about to meet him when the news about Max and Red Bull broke out. It was very… confusing but also… just in time.”

Sebastian lifted a hand to his beard and started stroking it. “Who broke off the negotiations? Max or the board?”

Mattia shrugged his shoulders. “It had to be Max. From all the conversations I had with Camilleri and Elkann, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in their minds that Max wants to be a Ferrari driver. Who wouldn’t? That’s what made it all so unexpected.”

“Yeah, I don’t understand Max’s choice.”

“It’s because you love Ferrari. Max is comfortable in a team where he’s the unquestionable leader and can call all the shots. That’s not something you can do when you’re wearing red…”

“Not even when you’re the boss,” Sebastian agreed. “So… you didn’t make any deals with Todt?”

Mattia shook his head. “I met with Camilleri yesterday. He asked me to deliver the documents to you. So, here I am. And here’s the full story of… this contract.”

They both looked at the papers. Sebastian wasn’t so keen to grab the pen anymore.

“So… When we met in Gardone, and you told me that there’s a good contract waiting for me…”

Mattia grimaced. “I lied.”

Sebastian looked at him. He didn’t seem betrayed or angry. He just appeared concerned and emotional. “You’ve been keeping the truth from me the whole time…” He reached out and grabbed Mattia’s hand. “I wish you didn’t do that.”

Mattia looked down at their joined hands. “I was sure I can fix the situation without bothering you. But it was getting worse and worse… And then it felt like it was too late to come clean.”

“It wasn’t too late today.” Sebastian pulled Mattia’s hand to his chest, making Mattia feel his heartbeat. “You’ve been protecting me and my future against the board, against Nicolas, while being fair to Charles at the same time…”

“I tried.”

“You’ve risked your reputation and your job, and your future for me… That’s quite intense. No wonder Nicolas started suspecting something… inappropriate.”

_Oh no, we’re back to this topic again!_

Mattia hesitated. “Just for the record, I… don’t have any feelings…” He frowned. “No, that’s not true. What I want to say is that my feelings for you are completely innocuous, I mean… yes, I love you.”

Sebastian’s eyes grew big.

Mattia blinked. _Did I really say that? _

“I should probably explain…” He cleared his throat. “I’ve always admired you, but this year I realised that there’s something more to it. I care about you deeply, which is self-evident at this point. And I guess love is the right word, because it explains everything. I love you as a human being. I love the way you approach your work. I love the way you interact with people. I love the way you think, the way you keep improving… I just… love you. If that’s improper for a boss-employee relationship then I’m sorry, but that’s how it is. And I’m not going to stop.”

During that whole monologue, Mattia wasn’t looking at Sebastian, but once he was done, he looked up.

Tears were dripping down Sebastian’s cheeks but when their eyes met, the boy smiled. And Mattia felt blessed for eternity.

“I didn’t know.” Sebastian slipped into his arms again. “I had no idea… the pressure on you… Thank you! You’re so great. So, so great…” After hugging him for a moment, Sebastian leaned away and looked him in the eye. “For what you’ve done for me, you’ve found a loving friend for life.”

Mattia's eyes filled with tears as well. He leaned and kissed the boy on the forehead. _Now we’re good. Not just good, we’re better than ever. Loving friends for life._

Sebastian leaned away, reached up and ruffled Mattia’s hair. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Now… let’s read that proposal.”

Sebastian read the contract out loud. It was for three years, with a vague performance exit clause after two years. The money the board offered was more or less the same as in the previous contract.

“It’s not a pleasant feeling when you know that some guys on top have already given up on you,” Sebastian commented handing the papers to Mattia who wanted to double check some details. “And the only reason why you’re in their team is because the other guy was not interested.”

“There are many people at Ferrari who still believe in you.”

“I don’t need many. I only need you and my team,” Sebastian smiled reaching for the pen. “At the end of the day, the board members aren’t irreplaceable either. They come and go, they pass away. While Ferrari is still alive. Ferrari is bigger than them. Bigger than us. I’m signing a contract to drive for Ferrari, not for Camilleri or Elkann.” He pressed the pen to the paper.

“Don’t sign it yet! They made you wait…”

“Chill, Bino.” Sebastian stuck his tongue out and started writing.

Mattia looked over his shoulder and read: I’ll deliver my proposal once I consult my advisers. Sebastian.

“I need talk to Hanna first because she’s one of them,” Sebastian added.

* * *

**Abu Dhabi GP 2020, final race of the season, Sunday, Ferrari team briefing**

“We need to win this race, and then just hope for the best…” Mattia's eyes were moving from one team member to the other.

“I want to help. Sebastian’s the only person who can still beat Lewis and I’m not going to get in his way,” Charles said. “I wish we swapped positions in Brazil. You would’ve had three more points.”

“And Lewis would have to finish third today. Now he only needs to finish fourth,” Sebastian said. “That doesn’t make a huge difference, Charles. Keeping in mind that Valtteri will be there to help him. But I appreciate your offer.”

Rueda sat back in his chair. “I guess all our hopes are in Max now. If he can take fourth from Lewis...”

Sebastian and Mattia looked at each other. _What an irony…_

“Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Mekies added.

Mattia sighed. “Let’s focus, guys. We can't let Mercedes win another one.”

* * *

Sebastian was driving like the champion he was. Mattia was barely paying attention to him, keeping a full focus on what was happening to Hamilton. The defending world champion was not having an easy race. Max kept him busy during the first stint. Lewis, obviously, wasn’t going to give up his position and fought the Red Bull driver hard, causing heart attacks not only to his own team but also to Ferrari.

The Mercedes pit wall has had enough and Lewis pitted. It was very early for a pitstop and Mattia wasn’t surprised that the Red Bull didn’t follow, opting for an overcut. But Lewis’ speed on fresh tyres was so good, he managed to undercut his teammate who after everyone pitted was now running in fourth position, acting as a rear gunner to defend Lewis from another attack from Max in fifth.

Ferrari were in fuel saving mode up to the point when Lewis appeared in Charles’ mirrors.

“No more saving from our part, let’s push now.”

Lewis was gaining and gaining, as if someone suddenly fitted a new engine in his car. Mattia kept an eye on Charles, who started to struggle, locking up a few times, his tyres degrading faster than Lewis’.

Charles was in a difficult position. Should he try to defend and risk a crash, or should he just let Lewis by? The second option felt sensible, especially since Sebastian had a lovely gap in front and his tyres were still in a good condition.

“Your pace is good, five more laps.”

Mattia held his breath when Lewis found himself in the DRS range. Charles had full engine power and it proved to be enough to keep the Mercedes driver behind.

Lewis backed off… He didn’t want to risk it. He didn’t need to. The seventh title was already in his pocket.

* * *

The cheering was ear-splitting. Laurent jumped into Mattia’s arms. Then Jock. And Riccardo.

“We’ve done it! We’re the world champions!!! Ferrari is on top again!”

The scenes in the garage behind him were wild. He was sure someone will get injured.

“_Forza Ferrari, Forza Ferrari_! Back on top!”

Mattia glanced at the monitor. Sebastian won the race, Charles finished second.

“We did all we could…”

He couldn’t shake a bitter feeling… What if we used more team orders? What if we protected Sebastian from the start? He had to remind himself that he was ordered to do the exact opposite, and perhaps he really did all he could?

But then he saw Sebastian and Charles getting out of their cars in _parc fermé_ and jumping into each other’s arms. And then being literally squashed by the euphoria of their mechanics!

So much happiness, such a relief… Back on top again.

Sebastian was crying on the podium when the Italian national anthem was played. Mattia felt tears rolling down his cheeks as well. They were far apart, but he could feel Sebastian’s gaze when the German looked at him and pressed a hand to the Ferrari logo on his chest.

* * *

He managed to catch Sebastian in his prep room after the press conference.

“I’m sorry…”

“No, don’t be! We’ve done it! You’ve done it, Mattia! We’re the world champions!” Sebastian threw his arms around Mattia’s neck and kissed him sloppily on the lips. “Smile, please!”

Mattia smiled, pulling the boy to his chest, mostly to keep him from seeing the blush on his face. They hugged in silence for a short moment, listening to the cheers and the singing of the Ferrari mechanics outside.

“I knew the drivers title was gone after Brazil,” Sebastian said, leaning away to look Mattia in the eye. “I had time to accept it. It’s been a rough season for both of us and I think… with all we’ve been through, we’ve done an outstanding job. Especially you. I love you, boss.”

Mattia blushed even more. “_Je t'aime aussi, mon chéri_,” he mumbled, but Sebastian’s grin was a sign that he heard him loud and clear. Heard and understood.

Out of the blue, the German punched him in the guts. “Let’s go and have more champagne! We should get drunk. But this time it'll feel much, much better!”

* * *

“You did it, Mattia! You fucking genius! Guess… guess what I’m doing!”

“Smoking.”

“Such a fucking genius!”

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

**Italy, Maranello**

“Mhm… the wine was incredible!”

“I’m glad to hear that. It cost me a fortune.”

“Let’s have another glass. This one’s one me.” Mattia signalled to the waiter.

Nicolas wiped the sauce off his lips. He missed a spot.

Mattia smiled. “Did you enjoy the meal?”

“I did, actually. Now I understand why that’s your favourite restaurant.”

The waiter refilled their glasses.

“Let’s have a toast,” Mattia suggested. “To many more victories!”

Nicolas raised his glass. “And hopefully the drivers title as well next year.”

Mattia nodded before taking a slow sip. “That’s probably our last meeting this year, so… before you go on a well-deserved vacation, I wanted to make a suggestion. You’ll have a lot of time to think about it.”

Nicolas grabbed a bunch of grapes and threw a couple into his mouth. “What do you mean?”

Mattia was surprised that the little man still had room in his stomach. “First, I want you to take a look at something.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened a video file, keeping the sound low, and handed the phone to Nicolas.

He could barely hear the audio, but he already knew it by heart.

“Do you want Lewis to finish the race or not?” “Could you do it?” That was Mattia’s own voice. “Not on my own, but my dad wouldn’t say no. He helped me a couple times already, in small matters. For example, when I was representing Kvyat.”

Nicolas stared at the screen, his face slowly losing colours as he watched a secret video recording of himself spilling secrets about his dirty tricks and his dad’s involvement.

Mattia took another sip of wine. “You’re probably tempted to delete the file, but don’t bother. I have many copies.”

Nicolas stopped the video and placed the phone on the table. He was breathing hard like a cornered animal. “What are you going to do with that?” he asked, through his teeth.

Mattia swirled the wine in the glass. “Nothing,” he smiled charmingly. “If you promise me to be a good boy.”

A muscle in Nicolas' jaw pulsed angrily.

“Do you promise?”

The young Todt nodded.

“Great. Now, how about a dessert?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it. The full story. When I first started writing it, I only had a vague idea of what's going to happen. And I knew that Mattia would threaten to resign :) for Sebastian, but the rest... the twists and the funny bits, and Maurizio as a character, and the final scene with Nicolas, it only took shape in my mind mid-writing, and I'm so proud of how it all came together in the end.
> 
> First of all, I want to thank you, my readers, for giving this pairing a shot. Special thanks to everyone who commented (if you haven't yet, please do!). I've received the loveliest comments ever, and they were the best reward. Apart from the obvious satisfaction I had from writing this story. It was a real pleasure; I never felt stuck which is a rare thing for me as a writer. I guess the credit should also go to Mattia, who's a giant not only physically but also as a person. Last but not least, I want to thank the small but awesome Tumblr crew who shares my love for Mattia. Caring for a Ferrari team principal is borderline masochism, but hey, it's not something you can control. We're in this together!
> 
> I wish everyone a good rest of this season, and a better 2020 season :)


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